98.4%
It’s often said that waste does not exist. That’s certainly true for the recycling of cars. Businesses and partners in the car recycling sector, led by ARN, have succeeded in reusing no less than 98.4 per cent of the weight of end-of-life cars.
The days when cars were merely ‘discarded’ are long gone. We actually do a lot more. We dismantle the car, select parts and offer them for sale again. Anything that remains of a car after disassembly is only partly a ‘remnant’. We separate and shred these parts right down to the smallest constituent and find new possibilities for reusing the end-of-life materials as raw materials.
We do this so well in the Netherlands, that we exceed the European legal standard of 95% recycling and recovery. We aim for high-quality recycling with a good balance between costs, recycling performance and carbon footprint.
Take some time to digest the numbers. In 2018, the car recycling industry responsibly processed 220 million kilos of materials from 207,000 cars. You could build seventeen Eiffel towers with the steel from these cars, which weigh around 123 tons in total. The tyres from these cars, a total of 828,000 tyres, weigh the same as 1,200 elephants. Even the 1.2 million litres of waste oil, which is the same amount of liquid as around 160,000 crates of beer does not go to waste.
Who is responsible for these fantastic figures? Our partners in the car recycling chain. The car recycling chain comprises around 300 companies and businesses that each contribute in their own way to the recovery of 98.4% of the weight of these 207,000 end-of-life vehicles. More specifically,
- 225 car dismantling companies
- 7 collection companies
- 11 processing companies
- 41 resellers
- 14 shredder companies
- 1 Post Shredder Technology (PST) plant
Sustainable Development Goals
For the second year, ARN has submitted itself to the yardstick of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the motto ‘lean and green’ in mind. The colored SDGs shown opposite apply specifically to the content of this page.
The chain works!
But how exactly does it work? Dismantling companies dismantle the useful parts that can be sold. They also remove the materials that must be collected and responsibly processed by law, such as fluids and tyres. Dismantled end-of-life vehicles are then sent to one of the shredder companies. These companies process the bulk of the metals. The final step is the Post Shredder Technology plant in Tiel. This is where 200 machines extract the useful materials from the shredder waste, such as remnants of plastics, metals, minerals and fibres.
So each link in the chain plays its part. The further increase of the quality of the reusable raw materials depends on the engagement and professionalism of these 300 companies. It depends, in particular, on how they respond to each other and work together. ARN wants to be a catalyst and facilitator and even lubricate the wheels in the quest for the circular use of materials. It gives extra attention to a level playing field for all professionals in the chain. Rogue practices do not stand a chance in the Netherlands.
Standing beside partners
ARN is also pleased to stand beside other partners in the chain. This means that we involve all stakeholders in the car recycling industry with developments, from manufacturers and importers to governments and enforcement agencies.
How does the story continue? Of course, we advocate further increases in the quality of reused raw materials, in close partnership with our partners. We do this by making four promises to everyone who has affiliated with us, namely ‘partnership in recycling, ‘a level playing field, ‘peace of mind in waste processing’ and ‘investment in sustainable car recycling’. Together we work towards responsible and high-quality recycling in a circular economy, in which waste will actually cease to exist!