This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano
According to Eurostat, 6 million end-of-life vehicles are generated annually in the European Union. Over one million of these are in Italy, which has the highest rate of car ownership in Europe, with 672 cars and 897 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants (2022 ISPRA data). The average vehicle age in Italy is over 12 years and is getting older.
In this sector, the national supply chain for the full recovery of raw materials has reached a rate of 84.7%, a long way from the EU target of 95%, as emerged from a study by the Sustainable Development Foundation. These figures underscore the importance of acting quickly to boost sustainable and transparent end-of-life management of automotive components.
A network of more than 140 scrapyards
Cyclus, the Certified Vehicle Scrapyard Network, operates in this context. Launched in 2023 by Haiki Cobat, a leading circular economy player, it has added an important element to the platform's offer dedicated to End of Life Vehicles (ELV).
At present, seven car manufacturers and more than 140 scrapyard operators across Italy participate in the network. Thanks to the certified Percorso Cobat platform, network members are guaranteed transparency, traceability, and data security in the service of circularity.
The regulatory framework in Italy and Europe
In Italy, the ELV sector is regulated by Legislative Decree 119 from 2020, which implements Directive (EU) 2018/849, an amendment of Directive 2000/53/EC.
The Commission proposed a new European ELV Regulation in July 2023 and is currently being examined by Parliament. The aim is to assign an increasingly central role in this process to car manufacturers, through minimum recycled content targets and strengthened extended producer responsibility (EPR), guaranteeing the economic sustainability of dismantling and recycling.
Furthermore, new requirements for scrapyard operators will be introduced to boost the recovery of critical raw materials, aluminium, and plastics, as well as stricter measures on exporting ELVs outside the EU, stepping up checks and digitalising procedures.
Cyclus and Percorso Cobat: how they work
The various members of the Cyclus Network (whose name, derived from Late Latin, evokes circular motion) have access to the certified Percorso Cobat digital platform, which offers monitoring and accounting tools as well as reports, statistics, and vehicle sheets, ensuring the correct management of every component of any type of vehicle, including hybrid and electric models.
Thus, car manufacturers can visualise data relating to the vehicles they put on the market, whose protection is guaranteed by the certified Certiquality software. Furthermore, they can access a network of certified scrapyards and verify recycling performance in real time.
For their part, scrapyard operators can input data relating to each incoming vehicle and get accredited by car manufacturers, thus accessing a network of guaranteed excellence. They can also obtain certification for their plant based on an assessment by Certiquality specialists.
Optimising recycling processes
"Promoting good recovery and recycling practices is one of our founding goals. For a long time, we have been called upon to substantiate a change of pace in end-of-life management, and the automotive sector has shown foresight and practical sense in this regard," says Claudio De Persio, CEO of Haiki Cobat and Haiki+, a group that, for years, has been working on boosting the efficiency of Italy's waste recycling model through sustainability and compliance.
"With Cyclus, we are fully accompanying this sustainability process, providing an innovative and efficient solution to facilitate the achievement of essential environmental protection and transparency targets."
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