Expiry date? Maintaining the value of your fleet

When fleets reach the end of their use, they can maintain value as a source of spare parts. GreenFleet analyses current international vehicle recycling schemes and why they hold potential for the UK end of life vehicle environment.

No products on earth are recycled more than vehicles. Not only does the process keep enormous quantities of toxins from being released into the ground and water, but it also prevents the unnecessary use of valuable landfill.

According to the European Commission, end-of-life vehicles (ELV) generate between seven and eight million tonnes of waste in the European Union every year, which should be managed correctly. Because of this, the European Union implemented the End of Life Vehicles Directive in October 2000.

The ELV Directive on end-of-life vehicles aims at making the dismantling and recycling of ELVs more environmentally friendly, setting out clear quantified targets for the reuse, recycling and recovery of the ELVs and their components. It also pushes producers to manufacture new vehicles without hazardous substances (in particular lead, mercury, cadmium and hexavalent chromium), thus promoting the reuse, recyclability and recovery of waste vehicles.

As of last year, the UK vehicle industry has been set legal targets that 95 per cent of the vehicle (weight) is re-used, recycled or recovered. This is up from the 85 per cent set previously, with the new tougher limits requiring significant investment from both the vehicle manufacturers and the recycling industry in to new processes.

The battery debate
The governments of the USA, Canada and Mexico have been instructed to ensure that design changes to incorporate less costly materials in new-type batteries for electric vehicles are assessed for sound environmental management.
At present, the recycling of existing batteries is driven by the value of the nickel and cobalt content. However, a report published by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), has warned that any design changes to include less costly materials in the production of new-type batteries must be correctly assessed for sound environmental management. It is expected that more than 1.5 million electric vehicles will reach the end of their life in North America by 2030.

End of life vehicle batteries are believed to retain around 80 per cent of their capacity after losing their suitable for vehicle use, but could still be deployed in residential and commercial electric power management, power grid stabilisation and renewable energy system management.

Dutch courage
Approximately 460,000 cars disappear from the Netherlands every year. Half of them are sold abroad and the other half end up in the car shredder.

Founded in 1995, ARN (formerly Auto Recycling Nederland) aims to achieve targets of 95 per cent recycling and useful application of end-of-life vehicles. The opening of the PST plant in Tiel in 2011 was a significant step towards this objective.

The plant runs on a three-shift crew and takes in more than 700,000 kilos of shredder waste per week. The waste is separated by a large number of various machines and separation techniques into various materials, or fractions, which each has its own application. A weekly production of 700,000 kilos means that the employees in the PST plant recycle about 36,000 tonnes of waste per year.

The last valuable materials are recovered from shredder waste in the plant, which is crucial in order to fully achieve the legal objective. Thus the PST plant is making a considerable contribution to this by separating about 40 percent of all shredder waste from cars. Additionally 56 per cent of the remaining shredder waste is incinerated with energy recovery: just four per cent maximum ends up in the landfill.

Arie De Jong, ARN director, explained: “200,000 end-of-life vehicles per year generate some 200 million kg of waste. A large proportion of the waste is already fed into a circular system. What is left at the end of the day are 40 million kg of post‑shredder waste. ARN processes that waste in its waste separation (PST) plant. This entire system, supported by the recycling fee, means that 95 per cent of the materials from end‑of‑life vehicles are usefully recovered.”
The Dutch company is wary of the worrying challenges that lie ahead. Firstly, there is a discerning trend of fake exports – cars that are de-registered for export purposes but instead are illegally dismantled. According to estimates, in the Netherlands at least, 1,000 traders are involved in these harmful activities, that affect some 30,000 to 40,000 vehicles every year.

However, there is good news in the Netherlands for 2016 as the recycling fee has been announced as remaining unchanged at €45 (including VAT) for every new car sold. The recycling fee makes it possible to meet the legal requirement. The €45 recycling fee pays for re-using parts, a demand driven by the market itself and the activity of checking how the vehicle can be recycled as raw material at the highest quality possible.

Development and infrastructure
ARN is offloading some of its expertise to ÖTASAD, the Turkish sector organisation for car dismantling companies, who has recently opened a demonstration and training location for car dismantling. The training centre in the Kocaeli Province, close to Istanbul, was created to improve the operating standards of car dismantling companies and to facilitate the reuse of components.

Against the background of its sustainability ambitions, the Turkish government has developed waste legislation based on the European model, according to which 95 per cent of the weight of a car must be recycled and recovered. Turkey aims to comply with this European recycling performance by 2020.
Günay Dar, president of Ötasad, describes the centre as ‘a first step towards a more sustainable recycling system, which equates to European standards’, which will help raise awareness of Turkey’s lack of end of life infrastructure.

Giving orphans a home
Back on home soil, the British automotive industry has committed to helping thousands of consumers recycle their old vehicles with a free take-back service, designed to help owners whose brand may no longer sell in the UK.
Under the ELV Directive, when cars and vans up to 3.5-tonnes reach the end of their lives they must be disposed of in an environmentally-responsible way. However, while manufacturers provide this service free of charge, some motorists can face difficulties if the brand is no longer trading and has no parent company. When this happens, the car or van becomes what is deemed an ‘orphan vehicle’.

On behalf of its members, The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has decided to take on responsibility for such vehicles by partnering with recycling company Autogreen to ensure that all unclaimed cars and vans can be disposed of and recycled responsibly – with no cost to the consumer.
This scheme will be especially valuable to owners of orphan vehicles in remote areas of the country who can find it difficult to get to a recycling point. Autogreen has committed to collect vehicles nationally, to make sure that all vehicles can be easily disposed of in a safe, environmentally-friendly way for free.

Cars are already one of the most efficiently recycled consumer products, with manufacturers now tasked with recycling and recovering at least 95 per cent of old vehicles. Vehicle manufacturing plants are also following this trend, with less than two per cent of their waste going to landfill in 2014, down from around a quarter a decade previously and representing a 90 per cent reduction since 2000. In the same period, energy and water usage have been cut by 48.1 per cent and 43.6 per cent respectively, while ‘well to wheel’ CO2 emissions are down by a significant 40.2 per cent per vehicle produced.

The new take-back system will help ensure that the estimated 700,000 orphan vehicles still on British roads have a route to responsible disposal.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “The new partnership is further evidence of just how seriously UK vehicle manufacturers take their environmental responsibilities. The industry has a strong record, not just on recycling, but on emissions, energy and water usage reduction as a result of huge investments into innovative technologies, production processes and facilities. Thanks to this latest initiative, every motorist in Britain can now be assured that when their vehicle reaches the end of its life it will be disposed of in a way that is not just ecologically sound, but cost-free – no matter where they live.”

Scrappage Allowance Scheme
British manufacturer Vauxhall re-launched its Scrappage Allowance scheme in October 2015, which allows customers to take advantage of a £2,000 (including VAT) scrappage trade-in against most new passenger cars in its range.

To qualify for the scheme, customers must have owned their trade-in vehicle for a minimum of 90 days, while there is no upper age limit for cars with any manufacturer’s vehicle accepted. As part of the scheme, vehicles must be traded-in and scrapped to be eligible for the allowance.  All surrendered vehicles are handled by Autogreen (also Vauxhall’s official contracted end-of-life vehicle partner) through their online platform.

Leon Caruso, Vauxhall’s Retail Sales Director, said of the scheme: “Vauxhall’s Scrappage Allowance scheme makes buying a new car even more affordable. Even customers who think that their current car is only worth a few pounds can now turn it into a £2,000 contribution towards the cost of a new Vauxhall – and that’s over and above any other deals they negotiate with the retailer, including free insurance on ADAM Slam and Corsa Limited Edition.”

Elsewhere, Jaguar has revealed that its new Jaguar Land Rover models will contain new recycled aluminium alloy, containing up to 75 per cent recycled material. Part of Jaguar’s REALCAR programme, all Jaguar Land Rover models will now be made using recycled aluminium following the car maker’s eight‑year research project with the world’s leading aluminium recycler, Novelis. This follows the news that the last iconic Land Rover Defenders have been rolled off of the production line.

Pierre Labat, vice president of automotive at Novelis Europe, said: “Novelis’ new RC5754 alloy not only meets the high recycled content threshold required by Jaguar Land Rover’s REALCAR project, but also it delivers the strength, durability and formability specified by world-leading Jaguar Land Rover engineers.”

Taking to the scrappage stage
The 16th International Automobile Recycling Congress (IARC) will be taking place on 16-18 March in Berlin. The congress is a platform to exchange the latest information on the role of different stakeholders in the ELV recycling chain, circular economy and resource efficiency and the life cycle and sustainability aspects of car recycling.

Notable topics that will be raised include: next generation car recycling technologies; the future of mobility; dismantling and remanufacturing; and the role of the car recycling industry in the circular economy. The congress will also feature keynote speeches by entrepreneur Oliver Scholz and Professor Julian Allwood of the UK University of Cambridge who will touch upon how to stop the illegal export of ELVs and how recyclers can ‘bridge the gap’ between environmental security and commercial reality, respectively.

IARC 2016 is expected to attract over 250 car recyclers, car manufacturers and also local and European-level politicians. Meanwhile, in the UK, the Complete Auto Recycling and Secondary Materials (CARS) trade show is located at Donington Park Circuit in Derby on 13-14 July. With the 2014 event attracting over 75 exhibitors and more than 1,200 attendees from 25 countries including India, Japan, Germany, USA and Australia, the 2016 event is predicted to be bigger than ever before.

Conference features include the future of the second hand parts market, the future of material technology, how to handle hybrid batteries, LPG recovery from ELVS, as well as outdoor demonstrations and a testing day on the race course.

Further Information
www.gov.uk/guidance/elv