Many parts from ELVs go on to serve a useful second life. Some individual components can be directly re-used, while others can be profitably remanufactured and used for servicing and repairing other vehicles.
Ferrous metals make up the largest amount of material recovered from an ELV. These are in global demand, as indeed are non-ferrous metals which can be recycled into raw materials.
Glass, meanwhile, is extracted from the shredding process, and can be used as a substitute for other materials that would otherwise have to be made from scratch or extracted.
Fluids such as oils can be reused, while batteries are recycled. Tyres, once recycled, have an increasing number of applications, including protective surfacing for children’s playgrounds or fuel in cement kilns.
Wheels – both alloy and steel – are sent for recycling, as are lead wheel balance weights.
Component remanufacturing is a valuable part of the UK’s vibrant aftermarket sector, with parts recovered in the recycling process or during in-life servicing refurbished for reuse in future servicing and repair. Recovering resource-intensive components – such as engines, starters, alternators, brakes, pumps and turbochargers – vastly reduces costs and raw material demand.
