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Vehicle recycling: Germany at the top in reusability

The Federal Republic is the "European Champion" in implementing the EU directive on end-of-life vehicle recycling. Resource utilization and recycling are important for the overall ecological balance.

Holistic View: The British organization SaveOnEnergy.com/uk has taken the trouble to compare the recycling rates of EU countries. Germany is well above average in this regard. | Graphic: SaveOnEnergy.com
Holistic View: The British organization SaveOnEnergy.com/uk has taken the trouble to compare the recycling rates of EU countries. Germany is well above average in this regard. | Graphic: SaveOnEnergy.com
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Johannes Reichel

Germany is the European champion in the recycling of end-of-life vehicles. This is shown by a recent statistic from the British initiative SaveOnEnergy.com/uk. The Federal Republic is thus 7.75 percent above the recycling and recovery rate specified by the EU for the period from 2006 to 2018, followed by Austria (4.79%) and Iceland (4.28%). Malta is at the bottom of the list in reducing so-called "end-of-life" vehicle waste, 17.6 percent below the average. The directive of the European Union aims to reduce the eight to nine million tons of automotive waste produced annually. The experts of the organization used data from the "End-Of-Life Vehicle Waste Management Operations" for their research.

Almost 50 Million Cars in Germany in Stock

As listed by the Federal Environment Ministry (BUM), Germany has a stock of almost 50 million registered passenger cars (Pkw) and light commercial vehicles. Every year, around nine million passenger cars and light commercial vehicles are taken out of service, of which around three million motor vehicles (Kfz) are permanently de-registered. However, these are not exclusively old vehicles (i.e., waste) but also used vehicles (i.e., non-waste). A large portion is regularly exported to EU countries and re-registered there, the BUM specifies. Additionally, another part of the used vehicles is exported to non-EU countries. Of the approximately three million motor vehicles permanently de-registered annually, around 500,000 are old vehicles, i.e., waste, according to the ministry. Only in 2009, due to the granting of the environmental bonus, colloquially known as the "scrapping premium," did approximately four times as many old vehicles accumulate.

The environmentally friendly disposal, meaning "the proper and harmless recycling as well as the socially responsible disposal" of old vehicles is important because old vehicles contain valuable materials (such as steel and copper) that should be returned to the material cycle to conserve natural resources, and they also contain environmentally hazardous substances (such as heavy metals). Old vehicles are considered hazardous waste, according to BUM.

The environmentally friendly disposal of old vehicles is regulated in Germany by the End-of-Life Vehicle Ordinance. Only the treatment of old vehicles following the provisions of the End-of-Life Vehicle Ordinance ensures environmentally friendly disposal and thus protects our environment.

Translated automatically from German.
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