22/05/2025
Reuse, repair, rebuild and recycle: the pillars of the circular economy
Massimo Condolo
End-of-life vehicles not only produce secondary raw materials, but also components that can still have a second life, thus avoiding the production of new parts and the related environmental impact
Re-using dismantled components from scrapped vehicles is an opportunity for the environment and the economy: it saves carbon dioxide emissions and (a lot of) motorists' money. However, nothing should be left to chance. Recovery, cataloguing, examination and overhaul procedures must be strictly defined and applied to ensure quality and safety identical to that of a new original spare part.
"In France," explained Fabio Uglietti, head of foreign markets at Quattroruote Professional, "it is a consolidated procedure that is accepted by both the end customer and the insurance world." It was MOBILIANS, an association of car repairers founded over a hundred years ago, that pushed for the adoption of this source beyond the Alps. "The current economic situation," explained President Patrick Poincelet, "is significantly prolonging the life of vehicles, which now arrive for scrapping an average of 19.5 years after being built."
Since 2009, in France, scrap parts have been considered as an alternative to original spare parts of matching quality. The directives impose the minimum use of 18 per cent second-hand spare parts and the use of one or the other depending on the age of the vehicle and its use; insurance companies present a double quote, one with the use of new and one with second-hand parts; 72 per cent of motorists accept the latter. "Second-hand spare parts," continues Poincelet, "are an essential part of the circular economy". The French turnover represents 3 to 5 % of the market in value terms, but in terms of spare parts sold the share is around 9 to 10 %, which gives a very good idea of the savings allowed. The French experience can act as a pilot at European level. Two major groups such as Renault and Stellantis have also entered the business. Katell Plunet, Head of the Circular Economy of the latter, explains the four pillars of the company's strategy: reuse, repair, reconditioning and recycling, which characterise the re-circulation of used spare parts.
Protagonists of this virtuous supply chain are also wreckers, whose activity is paradoxically in danger of shrinking precisely because of the entry of manufacturers and insurance companies into the sector and a regulatory vacuum. "Italian companies," explains Lorella Volpato of the Association of Car Breakers (ADA), "are structured and often have computerised cataloguing systems and on-line sales; they also use storage and reclamation systems capable of reducing environmental impact to zero and very serious methods of calculating recycled percentages, but they cannot reach the quotas set by the EU because Italy lacks the regulations to use fluff, which has a high calorific power, for energy production: last year 162 thousand tonnes were sent to landfill (an absurdity, at a time of energy crisis) and 40 thousand exported".
"In France," explained Fabio Uglietti, head of foreign markets at Quattroruote Professional, "it is a consolidated procedure that is accepted by both the end customer and the insurance world." It was MOBILIANS, an association of car repairers founded over a hundred years ago, that pushed for the adoption of this source beyond the Alps. "The current economic situation," explained President Patrick Poincelet, "is significantly prolonging the life of vehicles, which now arrive for scrapping an average of 19.5 years after being built."
Since 2009, in France, scrap parts have been considered as an alternative to original spare parts of matching quality. The directives impose the minimum use of 18 per cent second-hand spare parts and the use of one or the other depending on the age of the vehicle and its use; insurance companies present a double quote, one with the use of new and one with second-hand parts; 72 per cent of motorists accept the latter. "Second-hand spare parts," continues Poincelet, "are an essential part of the circular economy". The French turnover represents 3 to 5 % of the market in value terms, but in terms of spare parts sold the share is around 9 to 10 %, which gives a very good idea of the savings allowed. The French experience can act as a pilot at European level. Two major groups such as Renault and Stellantis have also entered the business. Katell Plunet, Head of the Circular Economy of the latter, explains the four pillars of the company's strategy: reuse, repair, reconditioning and recycling, which characterise the re-circulation of used spare parts.
Protagonists of this virtuous supply chain are also wreckers, whose activity is paradoxically in danger of shrinking precisely because of the entry of manufacturers and insurance companies into the sector and a regulatory vacuum. "Italian companies," explains Lorella Volpato of the Association of Car Breakers (ADA), "are structured and often have computerised cataloguing systems and on-line sales; they also use storage and reclamation systems capable of reducing environmental impact to zero and very serious methods of calculating recycled percentages, but they cannot reach the quotas set by the EU because Italy lacks the regulations to use fluff, which has a high calorific power, for energy production: last year 162 thousand tonnes were sent to landfill (an absurdity, at a time of energy crisis) and 40 thousand exported".
