Solving the Abandoned Car Problem
in Small Communities
This report (SW-?Ots.l) was written
for the Federal solid waste management program
by WILLIAM T. DEHN
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
1974
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An environmental protection publication
in the solid waste management series (SW-70ts.l)
For sale by the Superintendent ol Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price 65 cents
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SUMMARY
The small community faces serious difficulties in dealing with
the problem of abandoned vehicles. In this report, case studies are
presented which describe the cleanup efforts of two small communities—
Newcastle, Wyoming, and Klamath County, Oregon.
The communities chose different approaches and methods for handl-
ing abandoned vehicles. In Newcastle, a community volunteer activity
was organized and sponsored by the Junior Chamber of Commerce. Since
volunteer help was utilized, the cost of the project was negligible.
The cleanup actually emcompassed all forms of neighborhood debris, but
abandoned vehicles were the primary objective. A two-phased plan was
devised, with the first phase centered around the disposal of approxi-
mately 1,200 vehicles in an abandoned vehicle dismantling yard. Vehicles
were crushed by bulldozers and buried in a ravine at the rear of the
dismantling yard. The second phase included the cleanup of all forms
of neighborhood debris, including abandoned vehicles. These vehicles
were disposed of in the same ravine. The entire project was completed
on two weekends about a month apart.
In Klamath County, organization of the cleanup was handled by the
Office of the County Engineer. Collection of abandoned vehicles was
provided as a service to the community. The pickup fee was a basic
$3.50 per vehicle with discounts for large numbers on the same property.
Vehicles were hauled to a county land disposal site and stockpiled.
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A few weeks later, a portable baling machine was brought in to crush
the vehicles into bales. Bales were then shipped to a steel mill for
metal recovery. The baling charge to the county was $1.00 per vehicle.
These two successful cleanup campaigns illustrate that through
desire and initiative, small communities can solve their abandoned
vehicle problems. The documentation of these solutions may enable
other communities to take similar action and provide some guidance in
the development of their own abandoned vehicle program.
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 1
THE PROBLEM 4
CASE STUDIES 5
NEWCASTLE, WYOMING 5
Organization 6
Phase I 8
Phase II 13
Costs 16
KLAMATH COUNTY, OREGON 17
Background 17
Cleanup Campaign 18
DISCUSSION 22
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List of Figures
1. Vehicle Scrap Cycle
2. Cleanup Organization Chart
3. Pattern for Collection of Junked Vehicles
4. Vehicle Crushing Method
5. Collection Zones
6. Permission Card
7. Cleanup Form
8. Release Form and Bill of Sale
List of Photographs
1. Hoist Truck
2. Carry Lift
3. Compacted Vehicles in the Ravine
4. Portable Baling Machine
5. Compacted Bale Storage
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SOLVING THE ABANDONED CAR PROBLEM IN SMALL COMMUNITIES
With the increasing national attention toward the elimination of
environmental pollution, the abandoned vehicle has become the source of a
great deal of concern and criticism in communities across the Nation.
This concern is a result of the 3.4 million vehicles* presently abandoned
on public and private property and the 1.2 million vehicles* that will be
added to the total this year. Vehicle abandonment is a serious problem in
all communities, large and small, but is especially troublesome to small
communities that lack the financial resources necessary to handle the
problem. Even when vehicle dismantling companies, which purchase vehicles
and sell useable parts, are located in a small community, problems still
exist. These companies usually reduce the number of vehicles accumulated
on public and private property, but in so doing they accumulate unsightly
inventories of vehicle hulks, which can be as undesirable as the scattered,
abandoned vehicles they collect. In many cases, dismantling companies in
small communities have inventories of vehicle hulks that they cannot eco-
nomically recycle. Commercial freight charges to the nearest processing
facility (baling or shredding) are often so high that the reuse of these
hulks is impractical.
To appreciate the problem facing the small community, it is necessary
to understand the scrap cycle (Figure 1) and how it affects the problems
mentioned above. The cycle begins with the vehicle manufacturer which
*1970 Bureau of Solid Waste Management estimate.
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VEHICLE
MANUFACTURER
STEEL MILL
USED
VEHICLES
PROCESSOR
CONSUMER
INSURANCE
COMPANY
DISMANTLER
PUBLIC AND
PRIVATE PROPERTY
Figure 1. Vehicle Scrap Cycle
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takes materials and produces vehicles for shipment to dealers. Dealers
sell vehicles to the general public, and often receive used vehicles in
trade. These used vehicles are either resold to the public or to a dis-
mantler who salvages parts and sells them.
The consumer uses his vehicle for transportation until one of three
things happens: (1) it becomes old and maintenance costs make it uneconom-
ical to continue using it for transportation, (2) it is involved in an
accident and is damaged beyond repair, or (3) it is traded for another
model or sold. If the consumer gets rid of his vehicle because of reason
(1) and/or (2), he may either sell it to a dismantler, release it to an
insurance company, or abandon it on public or private property. This lat-
ter choice creates the vehicle abandonment problem—a major problem facing
the small community.
After a vehicle has been abandoned, it may be towed into either a
dismantler or a processor. As mentioned earlier, the dismantler provides
a service to a community not only by removing unwanted vehicles from pub-
lic and private property, but also by selling used parts for vehicle repairs.
J
Dismantlers are often the only source of parts for early model vehicles.
However, in order for a dismantler to stay in business, he must maintain
an inventory of parts to satisfy his customers' needs. This inventory is
generally kept by storing parts on the vehicle hulks and removing them as
required. This practice creates large piles of vehicle hulks which are
unsightly and cause an aesthetic problem for the community.
The processors, which create a recyclable product from the vehicle
hulks, acquire vehicles from two sources: (1) dismantlers and (2) public
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and private property. For economic i-easons, most processors are located
in large metropolitan areas near a rather constant source of scrap. Some
processors, however, operate mobile equipment and move around, having no
base population from which most of their scrap is generated. The processors
also create the same unsightly inventory problem as the dismantlers. Inven-
tories are necessary to insure the processing equipment will be kept oper-
ating at all times. Inventories sometimes grow extremely fast due to
equipment breakdowns. This condition often causes public relations prob-
lems for the processors.
The scrap from processors then finds its way to steel mills where it
is used to produce steel products, some of which are manufactured into more
vehicles. The cycle then begins again following the same pattern, with the
same problems as noted above.
THE PROBLEM
The small community faces special problems with abandoned vehicles
due to its lack of a sufficient economic base to finance processing equip-
ment and in many cases its distance from an urban area which contains such
equipment. These two factors create the following problems for the small
community:
1. Lack of a coordinated collection system for abandoned vehicles.
2. Lack of demand for used vehicle parts which would attract or hold
dismantlers in the area. Some may even quit the business, leaving
their vehicle inventory behind.
3. Lack of sufficient abandoned vehicle supply in one central area
to attract a processor from an urban area.
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These three problems are the cause of the abandoned vehicle situation in
the small community.
CASE STUDIES
The existence of these problems by no means indicates their invulner-
ability to solution. Acceptable plans for overcoming these problems have
been developed in several communities across the country. This paper pre-
sents two case studies of small communities which have attacked their aban-
doned vehicle problem in two different ways. These communities are Newcastle,
Wyoming, and Klamath County, Oregon. A third cleanup campaign, which has
been documented previously, was held in Portland, Maine*. Because small
communities face the same shortcomings in handling the abandoned vehicle
situation, it seems feasible that similar plans could be used in other
communities faced with finding acceptable solutions to their problem.
NEWCASTLE, WYOMING
Newcastle, Wyoming, is a small town of 4,000 population, located in
the northeast corner of the State. The economy of the town is based on oil
refining, ranching, and lumber operations.
The cleanup was initiated as a result of a proposed highway project.
The proposed route was designed to skirt the downtown area of Newcastle
and bring traffic directly adjacent to a dormant vehicle-dismantling yard
at the west end of town. It was feared that this yard would give travelers
a poor impression of Newcastle and might divert them from the central
*Andrews, John B. Operation junklift—a community public works pro-
gram, Public Works; April 1968; p. 96-98.
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business area, causing the loss of revenue for downtown merchants.
This project is a good example of the use. of community resources in
solving an aesthetic and environmental health problem. The removal of
junked automobiles from personal property and an abandoned-vehicle disman-
tling yard in Newcastle eliminated a potential health and safety hazard
and helped improve the appearance of the community.
Organization
Recognizing the need for action to clean up the dormant dismantling
yard, a meeting of the Jaycees (Junior Chamber of Commerce) was called on
February 4, 1969, at which the mayor presented the problem and asked the
Jaycees to organize the cleanup. The next day, a group of Jaycees took a
tour of the city to determine the need for an overall cleanup which would
include residential areas of town in addition to the dismantling yard.
At a subsequent meeting on February 11, 1969, the membership voted to orga-
nize a cleanup of the town with an emphasis on tackling the junked vehicle
problem.
In preparation for the cleanup, several members of the Jaycees met
with the mayor of Box Elder, South Dakota, whose town had successfully
completed a cleanup within the previous year. Members of an earlier
cleanup campaign in 1965 were also contacted for their views and suggestions
on the project. Guidelines for organization of the cleanup were received
at these meetings.
With the objectives of the campaign clearly in mind, it became neces-
sary to establish a committee structure to carry out the administration and
organization of the project (Figure 2). Committee chairmen were selected,
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and preparation for the cleanup officially began. The campaign was handled
in two phases, concentrating on two different but related problems on
different weekends. The first phase concentrated on eliminating the most
obvious eyesore of the community—the abandoned-vehicle dismantling yard.
Phase II included the cleanup of all unsightly solid waste and abandoned
vehicles in the residential areas of the community.
Phase I
The dismantling yard became the initial focal point for the Jaycees.
The yard covered approximately six acres and was filled with abandoned and
partially dismantled vehicles. The Jaycees estimated that 1,000 to 1,300
vehicles were located in the dismantling yard prior to the cleanup. It
was necessary to obtain the approval of the owner of the yard before any
vehicles on the premises could be moved. The owner was quite reluctant to
allow these vehicles to be removed since he believed them to be of value.
After a great deal of debate and some community pressure, on February 27,
the owner granted permission to clear the yard.
Equipment was borrowed from local firms and arrangements were made for
citizen volunteers for the cleanup. The County Commissioners released
county equipment for use during the campaign. The Garden Club arranged to
provide coffee and lunch for those assisting in the cleanup. Arrangements
were made for traffic control by the police department and fire protection
by the fire department at the abandoned dismantling yard. The local radio
station and newspaper were contacted for coverage of the day's activities.
On March 9, the cleanup of the dismantling yard began. Work started
promptly at 6:30 a.m. A method of handling the junked vehicles was devel-
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oped whereby vehicles could be compressed and disposed of at the rear of
the site with a minimal amount of traffic congestion from the equipment
(Figure 3). Two bulldozers were located at the rear of the yard near the
ravine for compressing the vehicles. A circular path was cleared through
the vehicles to facilitate the movement of trucks hauling vehicles to the
disposal area. The compressed vehicles were disposed of in the ravine.
Trucks used in the collection of the vehicles were equipped with a hoist
which allowed them to carry the vehicles from one part of the yard to
another (Photograph 1). An industrial carry lift used in a local wood
products plant was also used in the collection of vehicles (Photograph 2).
Vehicles were pulled from piles by the carry lift, attached to a truck by
cables, and hauled to the disposal area.
At the disposal area, as many as three vehicles were placed side by
side near the edge of the ravine (Figure 4). One bulldozer then pushed the
hulks into the ravine and continued across the ravine, crushing the vehicles
against the far wall of the ravine and compacting them beneath the bulldozer.
While the compacting was taking place with one bulldozer, the other bull-
dozer was back in its original position, preparing to push three more vehi-
cles into the ravine. This alternating approach kept the disposal process
continuous, and cleanup participants claimed this was the fastest and most
practical method they used. At the conclusion of the day, the compacted
vehicles were left uncovered in the ravine (Photograph 3). Nineteen pieces
of heavy equipment with operators had been involved in the cleanup and an
estimated 50 man-days had been expended in the effort.
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Photograph 1. Hoist Truck
Photograph 2. Carry Lift
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Photograph 3. Compacted Vehicles in the Ravine
Phase II
At the conclusion of Phase I, the Jaycees immediately began to plan
for the second cleanup weekend which took place approximately a month and
a half later. Phase II included an entire cleanup of residential areas,
but only the portion pertaining to the abandoned vehicles will be described,
The first step of Phase II was the location of the abandoned vehicles.
The city x;as sectioned into six zones (Figure 5), and each zone was can-
vassed by a different civic organization looking for abandoned vehicles on
public property. The canvassing was conducted during the weeks preceding
the second cleanup weekend on April 20. When an abandoned vehicle was
located, the owner was requested to release the car for pickup and to sign
a permission card (Figure 6) developed for this purpose. In addition to
this door-to-door canvassing, the local newspaper printed copies of the
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PERMISSION
I hereby give permission to the cleanup committee to j
remove debris, and any other unsightly items from the -
following described property owned or managed by myself
(Description of Lot or Area)
Owner or Manager
The following items of property shall NOT be removed:
Figure 6. Permission card
HELP CLEAN UP NEWCASTLE!
I recommend the following location or area be given
consideration by the cleanup committee for removal
of debris, etc.
LIST LOCATION
Give general description of what needs to be cleaned
up at the above location.
(PLEASE DO NOT SIGN YOUR NAME)
Figure 7. Cleanup form
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permission form in each edition for about a month preceding April 20. A
system whereby citizens could act as informants against their neighbors
was instituted. This allowed citizens to send in a form requesting that
a certain abandoned vehicle be removed from a neighbor's yard (Figure 7).
When a form was received, the committee contacted the owner and asked per-
mission to remove the vehicle. This system proved to be quite successful.
On April 20, Phase II of the cleanup campaign came to a conclusion
with the collection and disposal of the identified abandoned vehicles. A
group of trucks was assigned to each of the six zones of town. Each group
was given a list of addresses at which permission had been obtained for
vehicle removal. The truck drivers had the responsibility for seeing that
requests for removal were satisfied. Both dump trucks and hoist trucks
were used to collect vehicles. Vehicles collected were placed in the dis-
posal ravine but not crushed as during Phase I since loan equipment was
not available.
Later in the year, the county covered the ravine with fill dirt. Two
bulldozers spent one and one-half days completing the fill.
Costs
Actual costs to the Jaycees club included the following:
Printing of Phase II permission cards $15.00
Refreshments 10.00
Total Cost $25.00
Donations included the following:
Individual donation $25.00
The resultant net cost to the Jaycees was zero. Considerable value in time,
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equipment, and fuel was donated by various businesses, governmental bodies
and individuals.
KLAMATH COUNTY, OREGON
Klamath County, Oregon, is located in the south central portion of
the State and shares a common border with the State of California. Klamath
Falls, the county seat, is a town of 19,500 population with a metropolitan
area encompassing 40,400 people. The economy of the area is based primarily
on the lumber and forest products industries, but agriculture is second in
importance with potatoes, barley, alfalfa, and beef the primary products.
This case study discusses a 1969 cleanup campaign conducted in Klamath
County, primarily in metropolitan Klamath Falls. This cleanup is an example
of how a governmental body can help alleviate the abandoned vehicle problem
with a minimum of direct community involvement. It also illustrates how a
scrap metal baler can be utilized in the campaign to haul away vehicular
scrap for reclamation.
Background
The vehicle cleanup campaign held in June 1969 was the second clean-
up conducted in Klamath County. The first cleanup was conducted in 1967,
and the county drew upon its experience in that effort in organizing the
1969 campaign.
The 1969 campaign was part of a county beautification program insti-
gated as a result of an area-wide baseball tournament to be held in Klamath
Falls. The city anticipated that this event would attract spectators from
southern Oregon and northern California. Because of the large attendance
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expected, the local Kiwanis Club organized a cleanup of the community.
The cleanup was aimed at the entire community including the metropol-
itan areas. Solid waste of all types was removed from roadsides, parks,
and private property. This case study, however, will deal only with aban-
doned vehicle cleanup.
The overall plan for the vehicle cleanup campaign included a public
information program over local broadcast media and in the newspapers, col-
lection of vehicles by the county road department, storage of vehicles at
one of the regional solid waste disposal sites, baling of the vehicles by
a private contractor, and shipment of the baled vehicles to a steel mill
for recycling.
Cleanup Campaign
To handle the abandoned vehicle problem, the Klamath County Engineer's
Office was contacted by local service organizations and asked to provide
assistance in the cleanup of abandoned vehicles. They agreed to undertake
the responsibility for organizing the abandoned vehicle collection and
disposal.
County personnel were temporarily assigned to satisfy requests for
pickups. County road maintenance equipment, mostly dump trucks, were used
to collect abandoned vehicles. The pickup service was advertised in the
local newspaper, but no effort was made to visit citizens and persuade them
to have an abandoned vehicle removed. A charge of $3.50/vehicle was made
to the owner to defray the cost of collection and disposal which was esti-
mated at $5.00/vehicle (the cost to the county had been $10.50/vehicle
during the 1967 campaign) .
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To collect a vehicle, a county employee contacted the person request-
ing the pickups. A release form and bill of sale (Figure 8) was prepared
by the county's legal counsel, and the owners were required to sign the
form before any vehicle was removed. The vehicles were loaded onto trucks
and hauled to a land disposal site and stockpiled in a special area set
aside for abandoned vehicle storage. During this campaign, 64 vehicles
were picked up by the county.
A scrap metal firm crushed the vehicles stockpiled at the disposal
site at a cost to the county of $1.00 per vehicle. Prior to baling, the
contractor required that all vehicles be burned and that the gasoline.
tanks, transmissions, and engines be removed. This was to meet the require-
ments of the steel company in Oakland, California, which bought the bales.
The firm utilized a portable baling machine to process the vehicles (Photo-
graph 4). The baler consisted of a large hopper with moveable sides and a
large ram. When scrap was placed in the baler the operator crushed it by
alternately rotating one side and then the other into the hopper where the
metal rested. When the scrap was sufficiently crushed, both sides were
rotated toward the middle of the hopper until they formed a square tube
through which the ram crushed the metal into a compact bale. Bales were
then removed from the machine and stored for shipment to the steel mill
(Photograph 5). Prices paid for these bales were determined by the market
price at the time of delivery.
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RELEASE AND BILL OF SALE
The undersigned agrees to pay to Klaraath County,
a political subdivision of the State of Oregon, the sum
of $ for the removal of a motor vehicle described
as follows:
from the premises described as follows, to-wit:
This document empowers the employees of Klamath
County to enter upon the above-described premises for the
purpose of removing said vehicle or vehicles.
It is understood by the undersigned that said
vehicle Is to be removed for the purpose of reducing the
same to scrap, and that said vehicle will be demolished.
The undersigned represents that he is the owner of said
vehicle: and,
It is further understood by the undersigned that
this document is to serve as a Bill of Sale to the County
of KJamath and to the firm reducing said vehicle to scrap,
and the undersigned agrees to furnish title upon demand.
The undersigned further agrees to indemnify and
save harmless the County of Klamath and all other individuals,
partnerships and corporations instrumental in reducing said
vehicle to scrap, from any and all claims and demands of any
kind or nature arising out of the scrapping of said vehicle
from any and all persons who may claim an interest therein.
Dated this day of , 19 .
Figure 8. Release form and bill of sale
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Photograph 4. Portable Baling Machine
Photograph 5. Operator picking up scrap to be
loaded into the baler hopper.
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DISCUSSION
The two case studies presented herein deal with two different solu-
tions to similar problems. Similarity is found in the fact that both
Newcastle and Klamath County had significant accumulations of abandoned
vehicles. This was due in part to the distance of these communities from
processing facilities of sufficient capacity to process vehicles from these
areas. Only larger processors can afford to incur transportation costs
to obtain vehicles from great distances. Both of these communities are
in excess of 250 miles from such facilities. This fact necessitated the
development of a community strategy for handling the abandoned vehicle
problem.
The strategies developed by each of these communities were successful,
although different. Each community incorporated ideas into its approach
which are particularly laudable and worthy of comment. The method of
organization and citizen participation coordinated through a service-orien-
ted, non-Government club in Newcastle are of particular interest. The
campaign was organized and managed by the local Jaycees and there was no
actual cost to the town. The community effort utilized in Newcastle was
extremely successful and gave everyone who participated in the cleanup a
sense of accomplishment and pride in what had been done. In Klamath County,
removal of abandoned vehicles was achieved with a minimum of citizen
involvement. The fact that scrap metal contained in the abandoned vehicles
was recycled in the Klamath County campaign is worthy of comment. The
portable baling machine utilized to crush the vehicles demonstrates the
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feasibility of recycling vehicle scrap in the small community.
It is hoped that the experiences of these two communities, plus those
reported in Portland, Maine, will be valuable to communities planning
similar cleanup projects. Perhaps the reporting of these cleanup efforts
will inspire other citizens to similar action in their respective
communities.
pcr929
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«U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICEU974 •>46-317/Z8 3 1-3
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