Drive a Prius and your car battery will become your refrigerator door

In today’s green world the “in thing” to do is to reduce reuse and recycle whatever possible.  Thus, some pretty creative ideas have been hatched into products.  Take seatbelt purse straps and bottle cap belts, for example.  But, have you ever wondered what happens to hybrid battery packs – such as those found in Salt Lake City new cars on our Karl Malone Toyota dealer lot – when they reach the end of their life?  Well, they become the door of your refrigerator – no kidding!

Last year, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. launched a program to recycle the hybrid battery packs used to power Toyota’s well-selling hybrid vehicle, the Toyota Prius.  Over the last few years, mainly since the introduction of the second generation of the Toyota Prius in 2003, the vehicle, along with other hybrid vehicles, have become quite mainstream.

However, these battery packs do not last forever.  Rather, they typically run for anywhere between 150,000 and 300,000 miles.  Therefore, thanks to more hybrid vehicles on the roads, more hybrid battery packs are nearing the end of their life.  Rather than throw them in a landfill, Toyota decided to develop a plan to recycle the batteries.

When a hybrid battery pack has travelled its maximum amount of miles (note, a light on the car’s dash will indicate the battery is failing; it is not an abrupt event), Toyota sends a reusable box to the Salt Lake City car dealer, such as Karl Malone Toyota, to collect the battery.  It is then sent to a company in California.  Here, the nickel and other elements used in the battery are removed.  The nickel is turned into smelt, made into stainless steel and voila – a refrigerator door is born!  The other products found on the hybrid battery pack, such as the plastic housing, are also reused.

In the end, not only are Salt Lake City new cars like the Toyota Prius doing their part to protect the environment while in vehicle form, but the afterlife of their parts are also contributing to a greener earth.  Therefore, not only can you feel good about driving a Prius from your local Salt Lake City car dealer of Karl Malone Toyota, but you can also wow your friends with your newly learned fact – some stainless steel refrigerator doors are made from hybrid battery packs.