ELV Recyclers and ELV Recycling

ASV Euro Car Parts has been involved in the automotive wrecking industry for over 45 years, specialising in the recycling of passenger and commercial vehicles, both overseas and in Australia.

We practice due diligence in promoting corporate social responsibility with regards to ELV (End of Life Vehicle) recycling and have been awarded the Green Stamp Environmental accreditation.

The end of life of a vehicle is the stage at which a used vehicle is termed unusable as it is unsafe, uneconomical or both according to the current Australian laws. A vehicle could reach this stage naturally after 10 or more years of use, or prematurely if the vehicle is damaged beyond reasonable repair costs either from accident or neglect.

Our focus in regard to ELV recycling is mainly on Cars, 4 Wheel Drives (4WD), Commercial Vans, Utes and Truck bodies that we purchase mainly at Auctions and from importing overseas. We also purchase vehicles in any condition privately from the public. We then process and recycle these vehicles in an environmentally friendly manner which helps considerably by reducing emissions and resources required to manufacture these materials in the first place.

Breakdown of ELV Materials & Their Uses

Steel
Can be recycled repeatedly without loss of quality or strength, which makes it the most recycled material in the world. By recycling metal we are actively helping to lower energy waste, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to conserve precious natural resources needed to produce new metal products. Recycling one tonne of steel conserves 1.15 tonnes of iron ore, 570kg of coal and 48kg of limestone.

Aluminium
Use in vehicles is expected to double within the next decade. Presently, 95% of aluminium from cars is recovered and recycled. Aluminium can be recycled more than once and does not lose quality.

Catalytic Converters
Contain precious materials such as platinum, rhodium and palladium.

Batteries
The rate of recyclability of batteries has increased greatly due to the increased price of lead in recent times.

Tyres
Account for 3.5% of the average weight of an End of Life Vehicle. Many different processes may be used to recycle tyres that result in various forms such as fuel, gas, oil, carbon, carpet underlay, sports surface and steel as the main end products.

Vehicle Operating Fluids
From all our end of life vehicles such as engine oil, transmission oil, brake fluids, coolant and R134a gas are handled in the correct manner by using the appropriate disposal methods and machinery for removal of R134a gas, rather than allowing this to go to landfill or the atmosphere and contaminating the environment.

Glass
Comprises of approximately 3% of a vehicles’ weight translating into thousands of tonnes worth of vehicle glass that is available for recycling, but unfortunately there are no avenues for glass recycling to become cost effective as yet.

Plastics
Approximately 11% of cars today are made up of plastics due to the fact that they are both impact and corrosion resistant, as well as low weight and low cost, thus making it cost efficient on fuel and energy resources. Items such as many front and rear bumpers bars can be recycled and reused via way of simple repair and repainting.