When talking about pollution from vehicles, we mainly think of emissions in the atmosphere related to the use and consumption of fuels. But we often forget to think about the end of life of vehicles.  When they are no longer fit for use, most of the vehicles are a major source of pollution that must be dealt with.

Which pollutants must be handled?

Vehicles always contain:
• a little fuel,
• oil,
• explosives (airbags),
• antifreeze (engine coolant, washer fluid),
• …
 
On an average, a vehicle has more than one tonne of waste.

Recycling: handling centres for well-used vehicles

To avoid this pollution, vehicles cannot be directly put in a landfill or be simply abandoned. They must be sent to a handling centre.

What happens in this handling centre?

• Vehicles are emptied of their polluting fluids and their hazardous parts.
• Parts that can be reused are dismantled.
• Vehicles are crushed to recover the recyclable materials and the "recoverable" materials.
Europe has recycling and recovery targets (recycling + reuse + energy recovery).

Since 2006, the recycling rate should be 80% and the recovery rate should be 85%.

More information at www.febelauto.be