Value from shredder waste: ongoing limitations in the UK

O.T. Forton, Marie Harder, N.R. Moles

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Shredder residue is the residue from the shredding of end-of-life vehicles and white goods, after removal of the main metals. Approximately 850,000 tonnes of shredder waste is produced in the UK each year, and historically sent to landfill. Due to European legislation such as the End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) Directive and the Landfill Directive there is pressure to minimise this waste through recycling and recovery. In this paper, primary data are presented showing that 40% of materials are potentially recoverable in the coarser fraction of UK automotive shredder residue (>30 mm). Barriers to such recycling are discussed in the context of several recent drivers, including this waste's possible reclassification as hazardous. The lack of full and timely implementation of the ELV Directive in the UK has made it an ineffective driver, and it is now unlikely that its 2006 recycling targets will be met as intended.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)104-113
Number of pages10
JournalResources, Conservation and Recycling
Volume46
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2006

Bibliographical note

© 2006. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Keywords

  • End-of-life vehicles
  • Shredder residue
  • Automotive shredder residue
  • White goods
  • Landfill directive
  • ELV directive
  • Hazardous waste
  • Pyrolysis
  • Waste composition

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