Born Yesterday: Dramaturgy Guide
Prepared by Madison Delk
Different types of junkyards
Recycling
Junkyards were recycling before its time. (Household Recycling did not begin until the mid 80s due to legislation and over crowded landfills.) This is due to the scarce resources, such as steel and tires, when all material went towards war efforts.
Fun fact: the energy saved from one recycled aluminum can will operate a television set for up to three hours.
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Metal is important because it takes a tremendous amount of skill and energy to forge it into the original implement. This is why dead soldiers were picked of their armor after battle back in the day.
Recycling of Vehicles
About 75% of any given vehicle can be recycled and used for other goods. About one-third of the recyclable material from a car is plastics and polymers, but most of it is metal. After all usable parts and are removed, hazardous waste, such as the battery and fluids, are removed and drained. The vehicle is then put into a car crusher so it can be compacted and sent to a steel mill for recycling.
Recycling of Ships
Up until recent years, most ships were broken down in the port cities of industrialized countries. Nowadays, almost all ship breaking is done in developing countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India. The move is due to the lower costs of labor in those countries, as well as the less restrictive environmental laws.
Recycling of Planes
The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group in the Arizona desert is the largest aircraft boneyard. Just a short drive from nearby Pima Air and Space Museum, is home to over 5000 grounded airplanes; mostly US Air Force airplanes leftover from the Cold War era. For every $1 spent running the boneyard, it saves or earns $11 selling parts and inventory.