ELV depollution stations to pop up across India

Step by step, recycling of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) in India is maturing, observes car dismantling technology expert Joachim Vogt.

‘With the first car shredders installed in the past three years, we are now seeing further development of the recycling infrastructure, including proper collection and modern dismantling operations,’ he told Recycling International during the IFAT trade show in Munich.

India has a fast-growing middle class, meaning more people can afford to buy a car. However, a system to collect and safely dismantle ELVs does not exist. ‘Not yet, and certainly not anywhere in India,’ says Vogt. ‘But the good news is that change is on the way.’

Car recycling revolution

Vogt represents Iris-Mec, an Italian company that specialises in equipment and technology for dismantlers, which has recently sold ten car depollution lines to a recycler in India. Looking at the scale of the Indian market, Vogt agrees, it’s ‘only ten units’.

‘Obviously, they would need hundreds of these depollution points to cover the market. But it’s a start. We’ve been active in India for three years and I dare say we are witnessing a revolution taking place in the field of car recycling.’