End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling in the Context of the Circular Economy
Keywords:
end-of-life vehicles, circular economy, life cycle assessment, automotive recycling, quality management, environmental pollution
Abstract
This paper synthesises, from an industrial engineering management perspective, the recycling of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) within the European transition towards a circular economy. The study integrates three levels of analysis: the theoretical foundations of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) under ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, the European and Romanian legal and institutional framework built around Directive 2000/53/EC and its national transposition and an applied case study carried out at an authorised ELV collection and treatment centre in Romania, where the complete technological flow — reception, de-pollution, dismantling, sorting and recovery — is analysed for a representative vehicle (Volkswagen Golf IV). The results show that a properly organised treatment centre can reach recovery rates above 90%, approaching the EU target of 95% set by Directive 2000/53/EC. The application of quality-management tools allows critical points of the technological flow to be identified and corrective measures to be substantiated, leading to reduced hazardous-liquid losses, improved traceability of reusable parts, and shorter average vehicle processing time. The paper also offers a comparative view of emerging challenges — automotive shredder residue (ASR) and electricvehicle battery recycling and puts forward recommendations for digitalising traceability and optimising sorting processes.
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References
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[2]. ***, ISO 14044:2006. Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Requirements and guidelines, International Organization for Standardization, Geneva.
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[2]. ***, ISO 14044:2006. Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Requirements and guidelines, International Organization for Standardization, Geneva.
[3]. ***, Directiva 2000/53/CE a Parlamentului European și a Consiliului din 18 septembrie 2000 privind vehiculele scoase din uz, Jurnalul Oficial al Uniunii Europene, L 269, 21.10.2000.
[4]. ***, Legea nr. 212/2015 privind modalitatea de gestionare a vehiculelor și a vehiculelor scoase din uz, Monitorul Oficial al României.
[5]. ***, Ordonanța de urgență a Guvernului nr. 92/2021 privind regimul deșeurilor, Monitorul Oficial al României.
[6]. ***, Regulamentul (CE) nr. 1907/2006 al Parlamentului European și al Consiliului din 18 decembrie 2006 privind înregistrarea, evaluarea, autorizarea și restricționarea substanțelor chimice (REACH), Jurnalul Oficial al Uniunii Europene, L 396, 30.12.2006.
[7]. ***, European Commission. Communication COM(2020) 98 final — A New Circular Economy Action Plan for a Cleaner and More Competitive Europe, Brussels, 2020.
[8]. ***, European Parliament. Circular economy: deal on new EU rules for the automotive sector. Press release, December 2025.
[9]. ***, The EU's Circular Economy Action Plan (case study), Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Disponibil online.
[10]. Aggarwal A., et al., A global review of end-of-life vehicle management: India as a model for circular economy in automotive sector, Journal of Environmental Management, 394, 127386, 2025.
[11]. ***, A Review of Challenges and Opportunities for End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling in Developing Countries and Emerging Economies: A SWOT Analysis. Sustainability, 13(9), 4918, 2021.
[12]. ***, Insights into end-of-life vehicle recycling and its quality assessment systems in Malaysia reveals the need for a new stakeholder-centric approach for vehicle waste management, Waste Management & Research, 2023.
[13]. Wang J., et al., Institutional, technology, and policies of endof-life vehicle recycling industry and its indication on the circular economy — comparative analysis between China and Japan, Frontiers in Sustainability, 2, 645843, 2021.
[14]. ***, End-of-life vehicle management: a comprehensive review, Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, Springer, 2019.
[15]. ***, End-of-life vehicles (Netherlands recycling system case study, book chapter), ScienceDirect, 2024.
[16]. ***, Evaluation of end-of-life vehicle recycling system in India in responding to the sustainability paradigm: an explorative study, Scientific Reports, 13, 2023.
[17]. ***, Strategies for the enhancement of automobile shredder residues (ASR) recycling: Results and cost assessment, Waste Management, ScienceDirect, 2013.
[18]. ***, Challenges around automotive shredder residue production and disposal, Waste Management, ScienceDirect, 2017.
[19]. ***, Material recycling for manufacturing aggregates using melting slag of automobile shredder residues, PMC, 2023.
[20]. ***, LIFE 3.0 project — Aim to realise 95% ELV recycling in the Netherlands by means of post-shredder technology, European Commission LIFE Programme.
[21]. ***, Automotive industry challenges in meeting EU 2015 environmental standard, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, ScienceDirect, 2012.
[22]. Inglezakis V. J., Zorpas A. A., Automotive shredder residue (ASR): a rapidly increasing waste stream waiting for a sustainable response, WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment.
[23]. ***, Robotic removal and collection of screws in collaborative disassembly of end-of-life electric vehicle batteries, PMC, 2025.
[24]. Daniela Spasova, et al., Comparative Analysis of the Mechanical Properties of Polymer Matrix Composites Reinforced with Fiberglass Fabric, TEM Journal, vol. 10, issue 4, p. 1745-1750, 2021.
[25]. ***, Moving towards a circular economy: a systematic review of barriers to electric vehicle battery recycling, Journal of Cleaner Production / ScienceDirect, 2025.
[26]. ***, Barriers to electric vehicle battery recycling in a circular economy: an interpretive structural modeling, ScienceDirect, 2024.
[27]. ***, Progress, challenges and opportunities in recycling electric vehicle batteries: a systematic review, Recycling (MDPI), 11(6), 230, 2025.
[28]. ***, IDDRI. Aligning decarbonization, circularity and competitiveness in Europe's automotive industry, 2025.
[29]. ***, International Aluminium Institute. Aluminium recycling saves 95% of the energy needed for primary aluminium production, 2024.
[30]. ***, Stena Recycling. The value of recycling metals for sustainability, 2025.
[31]. Daniela Spasova, et al., Analysis of failure causes of S135 drill pipe, Materials Today: Proceedings, 59, 3, p. 1719-1725, 2022.
[32]. ***, U.S. Energy Information Administration. Recycling is the primary energy efficiency technology for aluminum and steel manufacturing, 2014.
[33]. ***, European Parliament - Legislative Train Schedule. New circular economy action plan (vehicle circularity regulation), 2025.
Published
2026-09-15
How to Cite
1.
PARASCHIV LS, GHEORGHICA MA, PARASCHIV S. End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling in the Context of the Circular Economy. The Annals of “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati. Fascicle IX, Metallurgy and Materials Science [Internet]. 15Sep.2026 [cited 21Sep.2026];49(3):39-0. Available from: https://www.gup.ugal.ro/ugaljournals/index.php/mms/article/view/10220
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