The main focus of the event was on field reports, new methods of research and the presentation of new processes. For example, Manuel Burnand from the French recycler Derichebourg reported on his company’s shredder initiatives, while Elisa Bonaldi from the automotive supply company Federal Mogul presented a new noise suppression product, which can be recovered from the light shredder fraction. Other lectures addressed the topics of the new plasma-melting furnace from Duesman & Hensel, the IDIS disassembly information system and the recycling of batteries from electric vehicles.
The lectures were supplemented by country reports from Greece, the Netherlands, Mexico, Canada and India. Euripides Paul Korres from the Greek end-of-life vehicle recycler Anamet said his company was confident of being able to achieve the 95-per-cent recycling rate in the course of 2015. However, everyone who attended the congress agreed that not only the right technology is required, but also sufficient numbers of end-of-life vehicles to process.
The European Commission also shares this view. The illegal treatment and the exporting of end-of-life vehicles are the two most challenging problems facing the automobile recycling sector in Europe, emphasised Artemis Hatzi-Hull, responsible for waste management at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for the Environment. She also named a number of further measures that could be implemented to improve the recycling of end-of-life vehicles, including standardising the reporting system and providing vehicle-dismantling companies with more information on the recyclability of various materials.
