Some 76,100 end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) were scrapped in Switzerland last year, around 5,000 more than a year earlier. The total amount of light shredder residue generated at Swiss shredder plants climbed from 59,600 to 61,200 tonnes in 2016. Of that total, only around 17,000 tonnes originated from ELVs, according to the annual report published by the foundation Auto Recycling Schweiz (ARS).
The shredder residue was processed in 17 plants – 13 in Switzerland, three in Germany and one in France. Most were waste-to-energy (wte) facilities.
The main destination outside Switzerland was the wte plant in Mannheim, Germany, which treated 14,200 tonnes. Swiss plants processed a greater share of the residue last year at 61 per cent of the total. The cost of combusting the waste material stood at an average of CHF150 (€135) per tonne across all of the plants accepting the waste and an average of CHF158 (€142) per tonne at the Swiss wte plants.
The foundation Auto Recycling Switzerland, which is supported financially by the members of the Association of Swiss Car Importers (Auto Switzerland), paid shredder plant operators CHF22 per vehicle towards the cost of managing the light shredder residue.
