Automobile Recycling in Germany

Abstract
Approximately 9 million End-of Life Vehicles (ELVs) are generated in the EU annually and around 25 percent of them are landfilled. In Germany, where approximately 3.5 million vehicles are deregistered annually, only 1.1 to 1.7 million are estimated to be dismantled in domestic facilities, while a great number of vehicles are exported.
Although both "ELV-Ordinance" and "Voluntary Agreement" existed in Germany, a new ELV Law was passed on May of 2002 due to the application of the EU ELV Directive adopted in September of 2002. With the Extended Producer's Responsibility under this Law all the ELVs are qualified assurance of being taken back free of charge for final owners, whereas only the ELVs not older than 12 years qualified under the Voluntary Agreement. In addition, a target for reuse and recycling rate, as well as the avoidance of hazardous substances, has been set and the certification system of dismantling linked with registration has been partly amended.
Many projects targetting the recycling rate address the design for recycling and the development of recycling systems for Automotive Shredder Residue (ASR) . Achieving this requires much work, however, due to the Limited amount of energy recovery allowed within the target.

Key words: EU ELV Directive, ELV Law of Germany, automobile recycling, take back on free of charge, recycling rate