Once your airbags have been deployed they have to be removed from your vehicle and replaced with new ones. This is something your dealership does for you to keep your vehicle safe and in great working order should an accident occur. Your airbags will also be replaced when they have reached the end of their full life and are no longer considered safe (they should be inspected after a decade to ensure they are still in working condition). If you've ever wondered what happens to old airbags, rest assured that many dealerships choose to recycle them rather than have them thrown out. Here are things that happen when airbags are recycled.

The environment benefits

The biggest benefit to recycling airbags is that landfills don't get overfilled with the bulky materials that comprise the safety devices. Airbags are also taken apart to remove all kinds of dangerous chemicals and components that could potentially get into drinking water supplies or soil. When airbags are simply thrown away, these benefits do not exist. Airbags deploy and save about 1,000 Americans a year, which means that many airbags could potentially be taking up space in landfills unless they are recycled instead.

Airbags become potentially cheaper

Airbags are recycled to make new airbags, plastic pellets, and metal sheets, which can help reduce costs to end consumers when they buy a new car. Recycled materials that filter back into the industry make products cheaper to make, which in turn gets passed down to the customer.

Liability is reduced

If your airbags are being replaced due to a recall or deployment, recycling them makes dealerships not liable for the used airbag that has been replaced. They get a proof of destruction or recycling, which is proof that they have indeed taken an old model out of your car and replaced it with a newer, safer one. This certificate should also make you feel good, since it is proof that your car has airbags in it that will currently work when you need them to.

You hope to never have to replace your airbags, either due to age or because of an accident. But if you do, you want to make sure they are disposed of properly so you don't have chemicals and other issues impacting the earth. With more and more dealerships choosing to recycle over classic destruction, you can feel good about knowing your airbags can potentially help the environment and create something new and useful.