Franchise motor dealer Dales Cornwall switches from plastic to aluminium number plates to improve sustainability
12 March 2020: Dales Cornwall - one of the leading new and used car retailers in the South-West - confirms its transition from plastic to aluminium number plates, with the goal of becoming more environmentally sustainable.
Aluminium plates have become increasingly popular in recent years, largely due to their environmental advantages. The material is 99% recyclable, which means that existing number plates can be repurposed. By comparison to plastic, aluminium is also substantially stronger – improving its durability in the face of road damage, and therefore reducing demand to manufacture new replacements.
Explaining his decision to potentially remove thousands of plastic plates from the existing market, Director Jeremy Rouse said:
“After learning of the environmental benefits of aluminium number plates, we were keen to apply the change across our entire range of vehicles. As one of the leading car retailers in the West Country, it’s important that we contribute towards sustainability in both our industry and community – whether we’re shifting towards recyclable number plate alternatives or introducing a greater selection of hybrid vehicles across our collection. We have taken great pride in implementing these changes across recent months and are currently looking at what else we can do to deliver a greener service.”
Contrary to expectation, there are multiple ways to recycle unused number plates. Rather than disposing of a number plate as waste, drivers have the choice to sell their license on to new buyers – or alternatively take their number plate to a local recycling centre, where the material can be reworked for further use.
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