Banner promoting IARC 2026 (International Automotive Recycling Congress), 25–27 March 2026 in Hamburg, Germany, with the tagline “One ticket. Full access to congress, exhibition & plant tours” and a “Register now” button.

Portugal’s green parts push is improving standards, but enforcement remains the missing link

Portugal’s green-parts programme is helping formal recyclers raise standards through certification, digital labelling and traceability. But Jose Amaral of VALORCAR says scale will depend on stronger enforcement against illegal channels and clearer insurer support, especially by keeping total-loss vehicles within the authorised chain and backing reused parts in repair protocols.

Jose Amaral of VALORCAR discussing the development of certified reused parts and traceability in Portugal’s ELV system. — Jose Amaral

Jose Amaral, General Director at Portugal-based vehicle recycling operation VALORCAR, outlines how certified reuse is taking shape in practice, where dismantlers have had to change most, and why stronger enforcement and insurer alignment will be critical to scale authorised parts reuse.

Portugal’s authorised vehicle recycling chain is beginning to see more structure around reusable parts, with ANCAV’s “green part” programme helping formalise quality, labelling and traceability. But while progress is visible, Jose Amaral, Director of Operations at VALORCAR, says the system will only reach its full potential if enforcement improves and insurers play a more active role in steering vehicles and repairs into the legal channel.

For dismantlers, the shift is no longer just about removing and selling parts. It increasingly depends on digital stock control, traceable labelling, and online listing systems that can distinguish authorised reused components from those still active in the informal market.

Green-parts certification begins to reshape dismantling practice

Amaral says ANCAV is best placed to give the official figures on uptake, but he believes there are already around nine or 10 certified “green part” dismantlers operating in Portugal.

That is still an early-stage base, but it signals that the market is moving beyond informal used-parts sales towards a more structured model. For authorised dismantlers, the most significant operational change has been the move towards digital labelling and more disciplined storage systems.

This is particularly demanding for operators with large historic inventories that were built up before digital processes became standard. In some cases, dismantlers may be dealing with legacy stocks of 10,000 to 20,000 parts that were never fully digitalised. Bringing those inventories into a modern traceability system is a major task, requiring that parts be identified, labelled, stored correctly, and linked to usable stock records.

In practice, that means the dismantling process is becoming more data-dependent. It is no longer enough to remove a part, place it in storage and rely on local knowledge of what is on the shelf. Certified reuse increasingly requires consistent identification, proper storage locations, digital records and online visibility.

Traceability is improving, but illegal channels remain active

Despite rules restricting the sale of used parts to authorised dismantlers, Amaral says illegal channels, especially online, remain a clear weakness in the Portuguese system.

In his view, the most important corrective measures are straightforward. First, there needs to be more visible and regular enforcement by the authorities, with at least one targeted campaign each year. Second, insurance companies should stop selling total-loss vehicles to non-licensed dismantlers.

Those two points go to the heart of the traceability problem. If end-of-life or total-loss vehicles continue to leak into informal channels, provenance becomes harder to prove, and authorised operators are undercut by businesses that do not follow depollution, dismantling, and reporting rules.

The challenge is not simply online sales as a technology issue. It is the combination of weak enforcement, incomplete control of vehicle flows and insufficiently robust barriers between licensed and unlicensed operators. For provenance and traceability to become non-negotiable, the legal chain has to begin with the vehicle itself, not only with the part once it is listed for sale.

Insurers could do more to unlock authorised reuse

Amaral says ANCAV’s green-parts programme has already attracted the attention of Portuguese insurance companies. That is an important first step, because insurer behaviour can strongly influence both vehicle flows and repair choices.

However, he argues that insurers now need to move from interest to practical commitment. The first and most immediate step would be to ensure that total-loss vehicles are not sold to non-licensed dismantlers. The second would be to support repair guidelines that explicitly include the use of reused parts.

That would matter commercially as well as environmentally. If insurers begin to incorporate authorised reused parts into normal repair protocols, dismantlers gain a more predictable route to market and bodyshops gain greater confidence in sourcing through legal, traceable channels.

For the recycling sector, the message is clear: insurer engagement should not stop at sustainability statements. It needs to be reflected in salvage disposal decisions, approved supplier structures and repair policies that treat verified reused parts as a standard option where appropriate.

Perception and trust still shape demand

Amaral believes the sector is already addressing some of the misconceptions that hold back greater use of authorised reused parts.

One factor is the presence of a recognised network of authorised dismantlers in the VALORCAR system. These operators issue a certificate of destruction and project a more professional image to customers and partners. That matters in a market where trust is often the deciding factor.

The second is the development of initiatives such as ANCAV’s green-parts programme, which gives buyers clearer signals on quality and traceability at the point of sale, while also reinforcing the environmental value of reuse.

For repairers and motorists, the issue is often less about the technical viability of reused parts than about confidence in origin, condition and accountability. Clearer standards, better presentation and stronger branding of the authorised channel can therefore play a practical role in shifting demand away from “backstreet” supply.

Data is changing how performance is judged across the ELV chain

Amaral also highlights how data visibility is reshaping performance management in Portugal’s end-of-life vehicle chain.

One important example is the growing influence of shredder performance on dismantlers’ outcomes. If a shredder performs poorly in separating and recovering non-metallic materials, that can reduce the recovery rate attributed to the dismantler. In severe cases, if that rate is too low, the dismantler may even face suspension.

That creates a more connected view of the ELV chain, in which dismantling performance is no longer judged solely by what happens in the yard. Downstream processing quality also matters.

The next gap: shredder residue energy recovery

Looking ahead, Amaral points to one priority for Portugal as EU circularity rules tighten: increasing the energy recovery capacity from shredder residue.

That reflects a wider reality for the sector. Better dismantling, stronger parts reuse and improved traceability are all important, but recovery performance will also depend on what happens to materials that are not easily reused or mechanically recycled. Expanding energy recovery capacity for shredder residue could therefore make a tangible difference to national recovery rates over the next two to three years.

For Portuguese recyclers, the direction of travel is clear. Certified green parts are helping professionalise the market, but scaling reuse will depend on stronger enforcement, better control of total-loss vehicle flows, and more explicit insurer support for authorised recycled parts.