Recycling EU wants to recover more raw materials from scrap cars
Cars, motorcycles, trucks and other vehicles in the EU are to be more recyclable in future. Early this morning, negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU member states agreed on new rules for the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation.
12.12.2025, 08:19
SDA
Both sides confirmed that the measures should lead to better recovery of raw materials such as steel, aluminum and plastics.
Jens Gieseke (CDU), the parliament's chief negotiator, said after the agreement: "Vehicles must be designed in such a way that they can be dismantled more easily at the end of their useful life and their parts can be reused and recycled more easily." The outcome of the negotiations is a success for the environment, climate and industry.
For the new rules to come into force, they still need the official approval of Parliament and the EU member states. However, if the negotiators have already agreed on a compromise, this is usually just a formality. Exceptions to the requirements should apply to small vehicle manufacturers.
Fixed recycling quotas
The agreement stipulates, among other things, that in future a quarter of the plastic used in vehicles should be recycled plastic. A fifth of this should in turn be plastic that was previously extracted from vehicles. Targets for other materials such as recycled steel, aluminum, magnesium and critical raw materials are still to be set by the EU Commission.
Building cars consumes a lot of resources
According to official figures, more than six million vehicles in the EU reach the end of their service life every year. Yet these vehicles are full of raw materials. For example, the European automotive industry accounts for 19 percent of demand in the EU steel industry (more than seven million tons per year).
The industry is also one of the largest consumers of aluminum (around two million tons per year) and copper. It also consumes six million tons of plastic per year.
Export ban on scrap cars
Export bans will be introduced for scrap cars and other vehicles five years after the rules come into force. The measure is intended to ensure that the EU meets its obligations not to contribute to environmental pollution in third countries and to keep valuable materials within its territory.
