Manassas, VA – The Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) today congratulated SpaceX on its historic mission to successfully launch two NASA astronauts into space. The May 30, 2020 launch is the first time a private company has sent astronauts into orbit.
“This is a proud moment for the American people,” said ARA President, Scott Robertson, “as well as for the professional automotive recycling industry. I commend SpaceX in the reutilization of rocket boosters for interplanetary transit and on the development of reusable rocket systems – a focus on recyclability that is proven to dramatically reduce costs and enable the United States to compete in space exploration.” Since 2017 the aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company has launched multiple attempts into space using recycled, gently used rockets. “Our profession is built upon that same focus of recycling genuine original equipment manufacturer (OEM) automotive parts to bring cost savings to consumers and keep vehicles on the road.”
ARA believes that vehicle manufacturers should emulate Space X in promoting the reutilization of their product to reduce costs by supporting the reutilization of recycled parts in vehicle repairs. Single-use manufacturing is self-serving, intentionally forcing consumers to overspend on repairs to their vehicle. Presently OEM position statements and procedures only allow for new OEM manufactured parts in vehicle repairs. “If we can reuse parts to launch man into space, we can surely reuse parts to repair our vehicles,” emphasized Robertson.
“For decades, our members and their employees have efficiently removed and reutilized genuine OEM automotive parts,” said ARA Executive Director, Sandy Blalock. “The value that safe, reliable, recycled OEM parts have in today’s automotive marketplace has never truly been recognized – in large part due to misinformation campaigns by the automobile manufacturers. Recycled original equipment automotive parts are manufactured by the OEMs and built to meet their requirements for fit, finish, durability, reliability, and safety. To see the investment that SpaceX has made in recycling their aerospace products and how proud the company is to tout the cost-savings and other advantages of using recycled products is to be applauded.”
The Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) represents the interests of over 4,500 professional automotive recyclers across the United States and in 17 countries internationally. ARA is the voice of the professional automotive recycling industry. ARA’s mission is to advance the automotive recycling industry and promote its beneficial effects on society. ARA aims to further the automotive recycling industry and ARA member businesses through services and programs to increase public awareness of the industry’s role in conserving the future through automotive recycling and to build awareness of the industry’s value as a high quality, low cost alternative for the automotive consumer. For more information, visit http://www.a-r-a.org.
Contact: Sandy Blalock at: sandy@a-r-a.org