'Cash for clunkers' was an environmental wreck, reports say

Remember President Obama's "Car Allowance Rebates System" or "CARS" program in 2009? The one that allowed people to turn in gas-guzzling cars in return for a $4,500 credit toward more fuel-efficient models? It was better known as "Cash for Clunkers" program. Apparently it had more cute names than it did good ideas, and might have actually hurt the environment, according to a new report. To avoid profiteering, most of the "clunker" cars were shredded, which created literally tons of gross "shredder residue" now lying in landfills. The metal from stripped vehicles was sold as scrap to China, so lower income families looking for gently used vehicles after 2009 took a big hit. Turning 750,000 working cars into junkyard dust and scrap metal definitely does not count as "recycling." [Source]

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