Where do Canadian cars go to die?

No, it’s not the setup for a joke. When your old car has lived out its useful life, a green choice is to send it to Canada’s “Car Heaven.”

Car Heaven is a Canadian car recycling program, run by the Summerhill Group. It’s designed to encourage owners of older, less environmentally-friendly cars to retire their vehicles, and to ensure that those cars are disposed of in an environmentally-responsible way.

With its Retire Your Ride initiative (known as “Scrap It” in British Columbia), the program targets vehicles built in 1995 or earlier, since these older cars cause more air pollution than the average newer model, but they’ll recycle any car.

Although the details vary by province, in general the Car Heaven program will tow away your old clunker for free and make a charitable donation in your name. In some cases, you may be eligible for a discount on the purchase of a new car or a bicycle, or for a reduced rate on membership in a car-sharing program.

For more information, check out Car Heaven.

Photo by muanisj (flickr)