If you, like many fleets and service operations, consider the waste and scrap associated with maintenance and repair an afterthought, you may have been missing out on some real cost-saving and environmental benefits.
“Every vehicle component and fluid may have recycling potential,” said Ray Hatch, CEO and president of Quest Resource Management Group, a national provider of waste and recycling services. “Even seemingly inconsequential items can have resale value and contribute significantly to sustainability.”
Advances in material recovery now allow for nearly all components to have recycling potential, Hatch noted. “While catalytic converters and large metal parts are known to have a higher value, smaller components such as aluminum wheels, batteries, and wiring can also generate a return when processed as scrap,” he said.
“Maintenance fluids like oil and antifreeze should be treated as valuable, recyclable resources as well,” Hatch added. “Similarly, components like seat belt tension devices and pressure gauges contain recyclable materials.”
In 2024 alone, heavy-duty truck salvage company Vander Haag’s Inc. recycled over 26 million lbs. of truck parts. Andy Dietz, a wholesale parts sales representative for Vander Haag’s in Spencer, Iowa, pointed out high-value items that are prime candidates for recycling: “Diesel particulate filters, catalytic converters, aluminum wheels, copper wiring, and even engines and transmissions can be worth a considerable amount in the scrap market,” he said. “DPFs and catalytic converters in particular contain valuable metals.”
Tripp Heller, VP of business development & marketing at Red Fox Resources, a recycler of emission control parts, said understanding which parts are not economically favorable to remanufacture and should be scrapped for metal value is important. “A good example would be a brake shoe,” he said.“Those parts can fetch a nice price on the scrap metal market but may not be worth it to remanufacture.”
Heller noted several heavy-duty aftertreatment system parts—including the diesel particulate filter (DPF), diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC), and emission control units and catalysts—contain precious metals, such as platinum, palladium, and rhodium, that can be reclaimed.
Rare metal spot price (as of March 14, 2025, according to MoneyMetals.com):
- Rhodium: $172/g
- Platinum: $32.54/g
- Palladium: $32.43/g
Tossing these in the scrap pile is literally throwing away money.
“When [these emissions parts] fail, they are typically not in a condition to be resold for remanufacturing,” Heller said. “However, recycling them for precious metals reclamation can bring in significantly more than scrap value, so that is a more attractive option. This is typically the case for DPFs and DOCs because the failure mode is due to substrate melting or cracking.”
When more shops recycle these rare metals, everyone in the future also benefits.
“Not only are you earning a higher payout by recycling, you are also keeping precious metals in the supply chain, which keeps prices down for new parts being manufactured,” Heller added. “Mining precious metals is expensive and has a very high carbon emissions cost.”
At DPF Guys, a provider of DPF cleaning and maintenance services, James Wendt, managing partner and founder, said that while the success rate for cleaning diesel emissions parts approaches 95%, there are some parts that are damaged and cannot be cleaned or repaired.
“Instead of simply disposing of these parts in the dumpster, we send them to Red Fox Resources for recycling,” Wendt said. “While the parts do have some scrap value in their metal canisters, most valuable is the ceramic media or brick inside that contains trace amounts of precious catalytic metals.
“With the right equipment, those metals can be extracted and refined and then sold at market rates which can easily exceed $10,000 per ounce,” Wendt added. “That makes them worth more than their weight in gold.”
DPF Guys also recycles the soot and ash it removes from the filters. A process that removes trapped soot and ash using compressed air and a vacuum collects the materials as a fine, dry powder or particulate matter, which is stored in barrels until they are collected by a recycling facility.
“The soot and ash we remove from the emissions parts is used for a wide range of purposes,” Wendt related, “including as carbon black in tires, carbon in steel, binder for brick, tile, and concrete, and even in some forms of wastewater treatment.”
Core value
While recycling makes sense for some components, other parts have value for remanufacturing.
Scott Foster, salvage department manager at Vander Haag’s, pointed out that remanufactured components, which go through an intensive process where they are disassembled, thoroughly inspected, and restored, can be a viable replacement for new parts.
“Recycled and even used parts can provide a budget-friendly solution for fleets that need to extend the life of their trucks while still maintaining acceptable performance standards,” Foster said. “Remanufactured components are safe and reliable as they are restored to original standards and come with warranties.”
Parts that fleets and shops can collect and sell to an aftermarket remanufacturer who will put them through a high-quality remanufacturing process, Heller noted, include engines, cylinder heads, fuel injectors, turbochargers, differentials, radiators, water pumps, and electronics.
Dietz listed the most common parts for remanufacturing such as engines, transmissions, differentials, steering gears, fuel injectors, turbochargers, fuel injection pumps, fan clutches, electronic engine control modules, transmission control modules, air dryers, water pumps, air compressors, clutches, and brake shoes.
“Even components that cannot be rebuilt as an assembly can be torn down and used for parts to assemble quality completed units,” Dietz added.
What resources are available?
Disassembling, parting out, or scrapping a truck can be a time-consuming and cumbersome process. To get the most value from their parts, fleets and shops should partner with a reputable specialist in used and remanufactured parts sales, and recycling alternatives. These businesses have the necessary space and equipment and the skills to properly evaluate, decommission, process, and redistribute valuable parts.
To make the salvage process easy, Vander Haag’s buys whole units that have been in accidents, floods, or fires and sell the valuable and useful parts that can be salvaged. “Parts that are removed from salvaged trucks will be processed during our dismantle phase,” Foster explained. “Once parts are sorted and cleaned, photos are taken and part numbers, cast numbers, measurements, and all relevant information is updated in our records.
“Our inventory techs will evaluate parts to determine whether they are able to be sold as good used components that would be ready to install on our customer’s equipment to get them back onto the road or if the component is a core that could be sold to a rebuilder,” Foster continued. “Sorted parts are stored in warehouses and consolidated with like-for-like components.”
For recycling, Wendt noted, the process couldn’t be simpler. “Simply set aside an area big enough for a pallet and stack any failed emissions components, wrap the pallet, and send the weight and dimensions,” he explained further. “If you use a company like Red Fox Resources, within an hour they will respond with a prepaid freight label and a bill of lading. A truck will arrive, usually the next day, to pick up the scrap and you’ll have money in your account for the maximum value of the scrap in a week or so.”
While fleets and shops can certainly navigate the process of reselling scrap on their own, leveraging the specialized capabilities of waste and recycling management services can profoundly enhance their outcomes, Hatch noted. “When it comes to reselling scrap, fleets and shops have a few pathways to explore,” he said.
“First, they can take an independent approach by identifying and sorting materials, and finding local scrap yards or online marketplaces,” Hatch related. “Resources like scrap metal pricing guides and recycling centers’ directories can aid in understanding current market values and potential buyers. Additionally, local governments often provide information on recycling services and incentives for scrap resale.”
However, while self-managing scrap for resale is an option, there are significant benefits to partnering with a waste and recycling services provider, Hatch added. “These specialists bring valuable expertise and resources that can help fleets and shops maximize the value of their scrap,” he said. “They can assess the cost and environmental viability of recycling specific materials, beyond just understanding which items can be recycled.
“For example, certain components like rubber or chemicals may have associated transportation and recycling costs that exceed the expense of disposal,” Hatch explained further. “Having insights into these factors allows businesses to make informed decisions about which materials to recycle and which may be more viable to discard. Plus, a recycling partner can often negotiate better rates and provide access to a wider network of buyers.
Viable options
“Recycled parts can be more cost-effective and environmentally friendly, making them a good option for less critical applications,” Hatch continued. “However, if you’re looking for reliability and longer-term use, remanufactured components may be worth the investment.”
Whether you’re talking about used parts, remanufactured components, or recycling, the value of parts and components depends on your specific needs. Ultimately, the decision should account for the application, budget, and sustainability considerations.
