Auto Recycling World spoke to Gunay DAR, Chairman of the board of directors & General Manager of Beker Recycle, and Chairman of the board of directors for OTASAD, Turkey’s auto recycling association, to find out about its history, its role and objectives, and the current situation in Turkish vehicle recycling.
A little history
OTASAD is a non-governmental organization founded in 2011 by automotive recycling (particularly ELV) industry representatives.
The Organization’s members are classified into two groups:
- Group one has 41 members (ELV recycling industry companies)
- Group two consists of 62 members (all recycling industry representative companies with the aim of building a recycling Organized Industrial Zone)
Key Activities and Objectives
a. “Project to Develop Turkey’s End of Life Vehicle (ELV) System Management”
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- The project was funded by the PSO Environment (PSO-M/Netherlands) program, supported by the Turkish Ministry of Environment and Urbanization and ARN (Netherlands) and training activities were carried out by OTASAD (Association of End of Life Vehicle Business/Industrialists).
- The project’s objective was to reduce harmful impacts of ELVs on the environment and design an exemplary ELV Presentation and Training Facility at the EU standards for ELV management and recycling in Turkey and improve general information on the management of waste, particularly scrap vehicles, through education.
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b. “Recycling Organized Industrial Zone Project (OIZ) ” – bringing interested parties, particularly the automotive recycling industry, which leads the industry under the Recycling OIZ framework/system, will:
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- Allow our country to set an example and be a leader
- Contribute to the country’s economy
- Increase the income level of the related regions with more employment opportunities
- Increase the value given to the environment and people
- Contribute to meet the need for raw materials, which are decreasing globally with the use of the “recycling” method
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c. “Other Activities/Objectives”
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- OTASAD intends to take actions to prevent a generation of vehicle waste, to reduce the amount of waste to be discarded through reuse, recycling and recovery of end of life vehicles and their components in order to protect the human and environmental health in accordance with the provisions of the ELV regulations
- To monitor, study the developments in the industry in the EU countries and on the global platform; to investigate ways for the industry to develop and grow according to the conditions in the country by establishing sound relationships with universities and research organizations; make publications, organize meetings and general and industry specific training to cooperate with other organizations related with the industry
- To make improvements in the documenting and reporting system by improving ELV pre-treatment and disassembly programs, to ensure that reusable parts are bar- coded in accordance with the international standards and promote the use of this program
- To document all activities in the industry, to contribute added value to the country’s economy, and to include corporate companies specialized in this area in the industry.
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Becoming chairman
I believed that it was impossible for the automotive recycling industry to improve and achieve a corporate structure together with all the industry players through individual efforts of companies and people. I strongly believed that the industry could be developed and grow with a non-governmental organization which would also improve communication with public figures, so I became involved in the process with like-minded colleagues/companies. I was elected as the board chairman in the first elections. I worked for 21 years in the public sector (Air Forces/Officer), which was instrumental in my being elected as the chairman.
The Turkish auto recycling sector
Turkish automotive recycling industry regulations are in perfect harmony with the EU legal framework (including the ELV Directive). However, there are differences in the industry practices and institutionalization.
The automotive recycling industry has not yet been fully understood by all industry players and needs time and changes made to have the value/importance it deserves.
The industry consists of almost 100 ’ELV delivery points’, over 100 ‘ELV temporary storage areas (disassembly/dismantling)’, close to 30 ‘ELV processing facilities (shredders)’, and over 1000 ‘auto parts sellers (reuse part sellers)’.
In Turkey, the number of ELVs processed in a year is relatively low compared to the EU countries (with the government subsidies in previous years, the number of ELVs has reached 400,000). Therefore insurance companies meet ‘reuse parts’ demands/needs of the industry with ‘replaced parts during repair’.
OTASAD’s working relationship with government
Our organization works with industry representatives, automotive manufacturers/distributor associations, the Association of Insurance, TOBB (Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey), as well as all related ministries to make laws and regulations.
Importation of ELVs to Turkey is not allowed according to Turkish laws; import of used parts is subject to special permissions.
There are things to do, and there is a need for control/inspection in documenting/labelling reuse parts and in the depollution/disassembly of vehicles.
The main revenue streams for auto recyclers in Turkey
The main source of income for the automotive recycling industry is the income from the recovery of raw materials and reuse parts (generally, recovery of parts that are replaced during repair under insurance and introduction/sale of such parts in the industry following repair/revision).
Vehicles in Turkey (including used vehicles) are sold at higher prices than vehicles in EU countries. Therefore, a need/demand to repair vehicles which are no longer under warranty with reuse parts has arisen, which has brought recycling companies and end-users together. All industry players have direct connections and commercial relationships with insurance companies as a result of insurance parts returns and ELVs due to breakdown or accident.
Work with other organisations
We are in the process of working and will continue to work with all countries and industry representatives, particularly with EU countries (we have projects for depollution/disassembly equipment production for ELV/EV with industry companies in France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy).
