BC’s clean air program reaches significant milestone

by Keith Morgan on Tuesday, October 4th, 2016

Since its inception in 1996, the BC SCRAP-IT program has successfully removed tens of thousands of older model polluting vehicles from the roads of British Columbia.

The 40,000th vehicle was recently scrapped, resulting in more than one million tons of CO2 reductions since the program’s inception.

Craig Brett of Surrey, the 40,000th customer, scrapped his 2001 Volvo and purchased a 2017 Chevy Volt from Barnes Wheaton in South Surrey. Craig took advantage of the incentive-based program, which provides buyers with a $3,000 rebate on a new electric vehicle (EV) when they trade in their older vehicle.

“Scrapping the 40,000 vehicle is an important milestone for the SCRAP-IT program,” says Dennis Rogoza, CEO of SCRAP-IT. “Removing so many high polluting vehicles from British Columbia roads, significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and exhaust pollutants across the province.”

Statistics show that the average vehicle within the province is 11.08 years old. Helping B.C. turn over its aging vehicle fleet could lead to huge carbon and smog emissions reductions; another reason the program is a smart move for British Columbia.

“Congratulations to the BC SCRAP-IT program . . . we know vehicles represent a large portion of greenhouse gas emissions, so programs such as SCRAP-IT can make a significant impact in the fight against climate change,” said Mary Polak, Minister of Environment.

BC’s Clean Energy Vehicle Program will soon be expanded further to support new vehicle incentives and infrastructure.

Electric vehicle (EV) sales have been steadily increasing, jumping by 32 per cent from 2014 to 2015 according to Canadian auto research firm FleetCarma. Many British Columbians pair the SCRAP-IT rebate with the CEVforBC™ program, which is funded by the Province of B.C. and administered by the New Car Dealers Association. CEVforBC™ offers up to $5,000 to B.C. residents who purchase or lease an eligible new battery electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

The SCRAP-IT program requires approved vehicles to be recycled in an environmentally friendly manner, removing all harmful pollutants such as mercury switches, fluids, batteries and tires. Not only will drivers be helping the environment by scrapping their older vehicles, new vehicles are generally more fuel-efficient.

For more details about SCRAP-IT’s incentive programs visit www.scrapit.ca

keith [dot] morgan [at] drivewaybc [dot] ca