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A vehicle that has come to the end of its useful life. End Of Life Vehicles may then be broken down into two categories; Natural and Premature ELV's. A "Natural" ELV is one that has come to the end of the road due to natural factors, on average they are 13 years old. A "Premature"ELV, on the other hand, is one that is not economicly viable to repair.
End of Life Vehicle or ‘ELV'owners are responsible for ensuring they dispose of their vehicle in accordance with the 2000 European ELV Directive which is the automotive equivilent of the electrical recycling directive,WEE. It is important that these vehicles are only destroyed at a registered Authorised Treatment Facility (ATF) so that they can be recycled legally, without causing any harm to the environment. In order to meet the reuse/recycling targets of the ELV Directive every vehicle which is scrapped at Summerhill Spares must go through the following process:
A) Destuction certificate:
A Certificate of Destuction is issued for every vehicle we process.This insures that once we receive a vehicle,it is de-registered and is no longer the responsibility of the vehicles owner. This document is issued by the department of the environment and is in triplicate form. The owner, Summerhill spares and the national vehicle records department each have a copy.
B) Depollution:
In the first step of the treatment, we depollute the vehicle. The ELV is drained of all environmentally hazardous fluids, such as oil's, brake-fluid, coolant, petrol etc., and the fluids are stored in appropriate containers, which are then sent to authorised companies for optimal recycling.
C) Removal of hazardous components:
In this step, all other components that are hazardous are removed, such as batteries, mercury switch's, tyres, catalytic converters and air bags and as above, are stored appropriately before being recycled. |
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D) Removal of components for reuse:
Components and parts which are suitable for re-use are then carefully removed, labelled and placed in stock . After this the shell or body of the vehicle is sent on to a shredder for further materials recycling.
Corporate responsibility is integral to our business and what we stand for. Acting responsibly also helps us to achieve our long-term goals. Summerhill Spares stresses environmentally sound working principles,seeking to achieve the following in order of priority:
1) Optimal reuse.
2) Optimal recycling.
3) Minimal landfill.
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An authorized treatment facility (ATF) is a recycling facility which has met the minimum technical requirements of the ELV directive and has been granted a Waste Permit or Waste Licence.
Every year end of life vehicles are responsible for millions of tonnes of waste. An ELV is by weight made up of approximately 70 % ferrous metal and 5 % non-ferrous metal. Vehicle Shredding is a process that separates metals from non metals, it is therefore straight forward to recycle 75% of a vehicle .Plastic, rubber and glass etc make up the remaining 25 % and an unexceptable proportion of this has, until the introduction of the ELV directive, become shredder residues (SR) most of which is land filled. Clearly this has a hugely negative impact on the environment and further more is not sustainable.
In order to ensure the environmental harmonization of all sectors involved in the processing of end of life vehicles, communication is of utmost importance. By involving all sectors such as the manufacturing, dismantling and shredding industries, issues such as product design and the materials used in the production of these vehicles, will ultimately translate into gains for all parties involved. If the manufacturer were to use a material that was easily stripped and recycled, the dismantling and shredding industries would be better equipped in handling the product produced.
In order to reduce landfilled waste from ELVs and to promote recycleability both from existing ELVs and at the design stage of new vehicles, the EU has drafted the ELV directive which in turn has been adopted into Irish waste legislation. It stipulates that;
1) All End Of Life Vehicles are treated only by Authorized Treatment Facilities.
2) Vehicles shall be recycled at no cost to the last owner.
3) A target to be met of 85% reuse or recovery rate with at least 80% reused or recycled.
4) Vehicle producers to limit or significantly reduce the use of hazardous substances in the production of new vehicles, vehicle components and actively pursues and promotes the recyclability of their vehicles.
5) Every End Of Life Vehicle must go through a process of de-pollution prior to dismantling, recycling and disposal.
The composition of the car has changed considerably in recent years. The major reason for this is the fact that the concentration of ferrous metals has declined considerably as vehicle producers have opted for the lighter, more fuel efficient materials such as plastic when designing new vehicles. Although the proportion of plastics used in vehicle production has increased in recent years, the proportion of plastics recovered and recycled from End Of Life Vehicles has not. What inhibits this from occurring is the number of polymers used. This, however, does not really present the problem, it is the fact that the type of polymers used are not stated. If all plastics were readily identified based on what polymer type used, the recyclability of plastics used would increase tremendously. |
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Metals :
Around 76% of the average car, by weight, is made up of metal. Most of this percentage is sheet metal. The overall metal content, however, has declined in the past few decades due to the introduction of non-ferrous metals and plastics incorporated into vehicle design. Of metals used presently in vehicles, approximately 98% is recycled and recovered by shredding operations which is then developed by the steel industry and re- smelting facilities.
Aluminium :
The use of aluminium in vehicles is expected to double within the next decade. Presently, 95% of aluminium from cars is recovered and recycled. Aluminium can be recycled more than once and does not lose quality.
Plastics :
As stated, the percentage of plastics used in vehicle production has risen considerably in recent years. Roughly, 11% of cars today are made up of plastics. This change occurred for reasons which include the fact that they are both impact and corrosion resistant, as well as low weight and low cost. One of the most defining features of the use of plastics in vehicle production involves the fact
that it is cost efficient on fuel and energy sources.
Common Plastics used:
Polypropylene (PP), Polyethylene (PE), Polyurethane (PU) and Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are the most common plastic types used in vehicle production.
- 41% of plastics used come in the form of PP that is used in dashboards, bumpers, and fender liners. PP is easily recyclable as is PE and PU and markets from non-automotive areas already exist.
- PVC is used in 12% of the average 1990's produced vehicle. Compared to the other polymers used in vehicle production, PVC is relatively more difficult to recycle and currently, no recycling facilities currently exist for post-consumer PVC.
- The traditional methods of disposing PVC involve incineration, although, in recent years, it has raised considerable concern due to dioxin emission, which is said to disrupt the hormone system. Vehicle producers are currently looking for alternatives to PVC.
Vehicle operating fluids:
The inappropriate treatment of fluids is of utmost concern and although more engine oil, for example, is being recovered and recycled than ever before, the problem of mishandled fluids by people performing DIY maintenance on there car remains.
Catalytic Converters:
In Ireland, there is a well-established network of agents that facilitate the collection and recycling of catalytic converters. Catalytic converters contain precious materials such as platinum, rhodium, palladium etc.
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Batteries :
The rate of recyclability of batteries has increased greatly for two reasons, firstly battery producers are now required to provide for the free take back of there products and secondly, the price of lead has increased in recent times.
Glass :
Glass constitutes approximately 3% of a vehicles weight that translates into thousands of tons worth of vehicle glass that was available for recycling. There are two types of glass in the automotive industry; toughened and laminated. Toughened glass is relatively easy to remove from vehicles, laminated glass, on the other hand, needs to be removed manually, which is time consuming.
Tyres :
Tyres account for 3.5% of the average weight of an End Of Life Vehicle. Many different processes may be used to recycle tires that include:
- Tyre derived fuel: replaces some of the fossil fuels traditionally used.
- Granulation/Crumbing: processed into rubber shred/crumb for carpet underlay, sports surfaces, etc.
- Pyrolysis: thermally breaks down tyres into gas, oil, carbon black and steel.
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