Car dismantling companies constitute the first link in the car-recycling chain. This is where end-of-life vehicles are brought to and where the parts and materials that must, mandatorily, be removed – such as tyres and oil – are removed almost immediately. Parts that can be sold on are then dismantled.
At ARN’s request, the materials that are mandatorily removed from end-of-life vehicles are collected by transport companies and taken to specialised recycling companies, where they are processed into materials that can be reused.
Post shredder technology
Car bumpers and glass may be removed manually. However, given that they can be separated from the other materials using post-shredder technology in the PST factory, car-dismantling companies usually leave them in place.
From the tables it can be seen which residual materials are involved and exactly how much of them was recycled in 2022.
Material collection, car recycling
| Materials (in kg) | Reuse (A = Wi-Wb-ARN) | Recycling (B1) | Energy recovery (C1) | Total recovery (D1 = B1 + C1) | Disposal (E1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-chlorinated mineral oil | 0 | 823.813 | 17.716 | 841.529 | 44.291 |
| Oil filters | 0 | 11.522 | 7.246 | 18.768 | 0 |
| Brake fluids | 0 | 36.525 | 785 | 37.310 | 1.964 |
| Anti-freeze fluids | 0 | 201.134 | 10.586 | 211.720 | 317.580 |
| Refrigerant | 2.357 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 101 |
| Liquefied gas tanks | 0 | 75.860 | 0 | 75.860 | 0 |
| Lead batteries | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| End-of-life tyres | 962.687 | 2.275.443 | 1.137.722 | 3.413.165 | 0 |
| Glass | 0 | 115.711 | 0 | 115.711 | 15.779 |
| Plastics | 0 | 14.710 | 0 | 14.710 | 1.630 |
| Waste not specified elsewhere | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other items dismantled | 31.891.636 | ||||
| Total (in kg) | 32.856.680 | 3.554.718 | 1.174.055 | 4.728.773 | 381.345 |