It goes without saying that Covid-19 has had a huge impact on all of our lives. The way that we work, the way that we see our friends, the way that we shop and how we choose to spend our time. However, the thing about Covid-19 is that whilst it has had those more obvious impacts, there are also a number of other ways that it has changed things.

One area that has definitely seen a change is the recycling and scrap car business. But, why is this? What has changed within this industry?

Lack of movement in the world has meant a lack of movement in the market

Covid-19 has meant that most of the things that we do have been put on hold, which means that we move around less, we shop less and we do things less. Even things such as scrapping cars. If you have a car that needs scrapping, then, you might decide that actually it is not really worth the trip. Instead, you may keep it at home, avoiding the trip to the scrap company.

This means that the scrap metal market, which usually has a good level of movement within it, has become quite stale and hasn’t moved. Not great for those who rely on it for their livelihoods.

Less cars are being scrapped

One of the main reasons that Covid-19 has impacted on the scrap car market is because less cars are ending up being scrapped. There are a number of reasons for this. As we have already mentioned, there are less people actively deciding to take their car to the scrapyard; often because they are less keen to move around due to Covid-19.

Another key reason that less cars are being scrapped, is because of the MOT exemption that was brought in at the end of March, at the same time that the UK went in to lockdown. The idea of this exemption was to help ensure that cars could stay on the road, even if their MOT ran out and extended these cars for another 6 months.

Of course, not every single car that would have taken an MOT in this time period would have failed, and then need to have been scrapped. But there is a good chance that this would have happened for some of the cars and if they are not getting scrapped, despite the fact that they should be, then this is going to have a negative impact on the scrap market.

The world has stalled

We have already covered how the scrap industry has stalled somewhat since Covid-19 began to take a hold and there are a number of reasons for this. However, it goes without saying that this has gone a lot further than we realise, the world as a whole has stalled.

Less people are going out to work and less people are out and about in the real world. Of course, there is still plenty that is going on “as normal” in the world. This is particularly true when you look at jobs that cannot be done from the comfort of your home and that will require someone to actually travel to their workplace.

The thing to remember, much like many of the things that have been changed by Covid-19, is that it isn’t forever. Sure, things are going to be hard for a while and the changes are going to take some time to get used to, but that doesn’t mean that one day we can’t return to the world that we know and love.

All industries, even those that have been hit the hardest, will return to normal over time and they will go through a period of recovery. We just have to remind ourselves that this will happen and that we all need to do what we can to help this. Even the smallest things can make a big difference to the world around us, and in a post Covid-19 world, we all have a part to play.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should be scrapping your car needlessly, but if you do have a car that ends up failing its MOT and is more costly to repair than you think it is worth, then consider scrapping it as an option.Â