As the auto recycling industry enters 2025, major developments are set to shape its future. Søren Lundfold, Chairman of the Danish Auto Recycling Association (DAG), reflects on the sector’s progress and the challenges ahead. With an increasing demand for recycled parts, the introduction of Denmark’s first environmental handler training, and upcoming EU regulations that will redefine vehicle scrapping and producer responsibility, the year marks a turning point for sustainability in the industry. However, issues such as declining scrap car supply, evolving repair regulations, and the management of burned-out electric vehicles pose significant hurdles. Despite these challenges, the industry remains optimistic, embracing change and innovation to ensure a more sustainable future.
2025 will be the year when the scrapping rules of the future really come into focus, predicts the chairman of Danish Auto Recycling at the turn of the year.
As car recyclers, we have many good reasons to believe in a positive 2025, even if there may be a bit of a downside.
First of all, we are noticing a growing interest in recycled parts, which has exposed a need for a closer dialogue about quality and mutual expectations. We are happy to engage in this dialogue – both with workshops and insurance companies. The challenge now lies, as before, in ensuring a broad range of products and a flexible market – but also in ensuring that it is a good deal for everyone to use used parts. We are hoping for a successful rollout of the new incentive supplement, which gives insurance companies and workshops the opportunity to agree on a better profit margin.
One of the most exciting things will be following the process of the creation of the new scrapping rules. The rules will become an EU regulation – with direct legal force in the member states – and will integrate all previous legislation related to car production. The cars must be designed to be more dismantling-friendly, more recycled materials must be used, controls on the export of end-of-life vehicles will be tightened, and then the producer responsibility of car factories will be further expanded. The EU Commission sent the proposal to the streets in 2023, and in mid-December it was on the agenda of the Danish Parliament’s European Affairs Committee ahead of the Council of Ministers meeting of the Environment Ministers a few days later. The upcoming regulation will certainly tighten the requirements for us, but it will also ensure our continued relevance.
2025 will be the year when Tradium – a technical school in Randers – will produce the first batch of fully-qualified environmental handlers. The environmental handler training is the result of an exemplary collaboration between the school and Dansk Autogenbrug to provide our employees with a professional foundation and is an offer for future employees in the industry.
And certainly – right? – 2025 will bring a new breakthrough when it comes to repair regulations. First of all, we consider that the repair limit for electric cars will be increased or – what would be most natural – abolished. Electric cars are more expensive to repair than fossil cars, which leads to a disproportionately high number of newer cars being pushed beyond the repair limit. Even the most fiscally conscious politician must be able to see that this is completely wrong.
Among the minor cases we are currently looking forward to a clarification of is who is responsible for completely burned-out electric cars, and who will therefore bear the cost of their waste management. For us, they currently represent a serious environmental and occupational health and safety problem.
Over the past five years, we have experienced a continuous decline in the supply of scrap cars. On the one hand, this means that a significant number of older, less environmentally friendly cars are driving around on Danish roads, and on the other, our companies are losing earnings. This can be felt.
With thanks for good and constructive cooperation in 2024, we wish the entire industry a dynamic and successful 2025!
Source autogenbrug.dk
