Recently, President Anselmo Calò of the Italian Vehicle Recycling Association, ADA participated in a digital talk with the Ricicla TV broadcaster in which he spoke about the results of the Italian end-of-life vehicle supply chain in light of the recently published Ispra 2023 Report on Special Waste.
Among the topics touched upon, there was also talk of the delay in energy recovery and the prospects for the car demolition sector after the proposed ELV Regulation published on 13 July by the European Commission.
From the delay in energy recovery to the prospects for vehicle dismantlers: the point on the new regulation on end-of-life vehicles, Anselmo Calò, president of ADA, said, “Italy will remain first in Europe for recycling.”
Even in 2021, according to ISPRA data, Italy failed to hit the target of 95% overall recovery of end-of-life vehicles, thanks to the total absence of energy recovery solutions for ‘car fluff’, which ended up almost exclusively at the landfill. At 84.3%, however, the system is fully aligned with the 85% recycling and reuse target. A result that the new European regulation presented a few days ago and now being studied by the EU institutions will be able to consolidate, explained the president of AD, Anselmo Calò during a digital talk on Ricicla.tv.
Let’s start with energy recovery. Why can’t we break the impasse?
“The problem is plant engineering, as we reported last year to the then Minister of Ecological Transition Roberto Cingolani. The Ministry’s report on the National Waste Management Program also indicated the lack of fluff combustion plant engineering. However, this was a generic indication, while it would be necessary for the Ministry to ‘influence’ the decisions of the Regions to build the plants, also by providing incentives or making resources available. Simply pointing out the problem without giving concrete indications is too little”.
Will the new European regulation on end-of-life vehicles, presented a few days ago, help Italy catch up?
“The problem remains. Investments in new plants are needed. That said, the proposal – which will enter into force no earlier than 2026 – establishes two interesting things. The first is the ban on placing fluff in landfills (if this has not first been treated in advanced recovery plants, ed). So it will necessarily be necessary to go to energy recovery, which in Italy will mean going abroad. At that point we will reach the goal, but who knows at what cost. The other interesting aspect of the proposal is the push on ‘post shredding’, i.e. the recovery activities downstream of the shredding phases in which the fluff is produced. This will certainly lead to an increase in the recycling rate.”
So what are the prospects?
“We declare 84.3% reuse and recycling. I believe we are and will remain the first in Europe because we are the only ones who have correctly counted the quantities of recycled material, while for our European colleagues, the new proposal will represent a huge blow. Foreign companies will also have to make the same efforts as Italy to achieve such a high level of reuse and recycling. Another interesting aspect is that the regulation finally applies the principle underlying Directive 53 of 2000: ‘If the vehicles are well made, there is no need to pay for their disposal'”.
Translated, it means that every vehicle should be designed to be reused or recycled to the greatest extent possible once it reaches its end of life to reduce the cost of disposing of residual fractions.
“The principle of the directive has never found the levers for correct application, while the new regulation introduces them in a very clear way”.
“Increasing producer responsibility in a clear way. Automakers will need to improve the production of their vehicles to ensure reuse and recycling. Some of the recycled materials will even have to be reused in the production of the vehicles themselves. In the new regulation, the Commission has, in fact, chosen to align the end-of-life directive with that on type approval. Before obtaining the latter, the manufacturer will, in fact, have to prove that the vehicle placed on the market is actually recyclable, with reference to specific measurement parameters”.
This article was originally published at www.riciclanews.it
