A scrapped car is taken apart in a strict order: depolluted first, stripped of anything reusable second, shredded last. By the end, at least 95% of it by weight must be recovered and at least 85% genuinely recycled or reused. Here is what actually happens between your driveway and the furnace.
Two minutes inside an Authorised Treatment Facility. If the video does not load, watch it on YouTube.
Step one: depollution
Before anything else, everything hazardous comes out. Fuel, engine oil, coolant, brake fluid, screen wash, the battery, airbags and the tyres are all removed and handled through their own regulated streams. This is the step the environmental permit exists to police, and it is why only an Authorised Treatment Facility can legally do the work. A car that has been depolluted is no longer classed as hazardous waste.
| Removed | Status | Why |
|---|
| Lead-acid battery | Hazardous | Recycled at specialist facilities. See battery recycling |
| Tyres | Controlled | Disposal records kept for two years, strict on-site storage limits. See tyre recycling |
| Wheel balance weights | Hazardous | Lead |
| Oils, fuel and fluids | Hazardous | Coolant, brake fluid, refrigerant and wash fluids can all contaminate soil and water. See recycling fluids |
| Airbags and pre-tensioners | Varies | Potentially explosive, and often still hazardous after deployment |
| Catalytic converter | Controlled | Contains precious metals but picks up pollutants in use. See catalytic converters |
| Oil filter | Hazardous | Residual oil |
| Mercury switches | Hazardous | Mercury is toxic in tiny quantities |
| LPG tank, where fitted | Hazardous | Pressurised flammable gas |
Depollution normally happens within days of the vehicle arriving, and an ATF that fails to do it properly can lose its licence.
Step two: parts worth more than metal
Anything with resale value is removed intact. A working engine, the catalytic converter, panels, lights and interior parts in demand all go for reuse, because a part used again counts toward the recycling target and is worth more than its weight in shredded metal. This is also the stage at which a repairable vehicle can leave the process entirely as salvage rather than scrap.
Step three: the shredder
What remains, mostly the body shell, is shredded into fist-sized fragments in seconds. The output is then separated by material: magnets pull out the steel, eddy current separators throw out the aluminium and other non-ferrous metals, and density and optical sorting divide what is left. Steel and aluminium go back to the mills; a modern car is roughly three quarters metal by weight, and that fraction has well-established markets. See metal recycling for where it goes next, and car recycling for the complete journey end to end.
Step four: the difficult quarter
The remainder, known in the industry as shredder residue, is where the recycling targets earn their keep. It is a mix of plastics, glass, rubber, foam and textiles, and it is the hardest fraction to do anything useful with. The rules require at least 85% of the vehicle to be reused or recycled, with energy recovery only allowed to bridge the gap to 95%, which is precisely what stops this fraction simply being burned.
| Target | Minimum | What counts |
|---|
| Reuse and recovery | 95% | Reuse, recycling and energy recovery combined |
| Reuse and recycling | 85% | Reuse and genuine recycling only |
Regulation 18, End-of-Life Vehicles (Producer Responsibility) Regulations 2005, measured by average weight per vehicle per year. The full detail is on our Certificate of Destruction page.
And the paperwork that closes it
Once the vehicle is depolluted or destroyed, the facility notifies the DVLA electronically and a Certificate of Destruction is issued within seven days. That is the moment your responsibility for the car legally ends, and it is why using an Authorised Treatment Facility is the one part of this process that protects you personally rather than the environment.
Common questions
How long does the whole process take?
Depollution and parts recovery take place over days or weeks depending on the facility's throughput. The shredding itself takes seconds.
Is anything reused rather than recycled?
Yes, and reuse is preferred. Parts sold for reuse count toward the targets and keep components in service at a fraction of the energy cost of remanufacturing them.
What happens to the tyres?
They come off at depollution and enter their own stream. Tyres have been banned from UK landfill for two decades, so they are retreaded, turned to crumb rubber or used as fuel. See tyre recycling.
Does my car actually get destroyed, or resold?
Either is possible. If the facility judges it repairable, it can be repaired and sold, in which case no Certificate of Destruction is issued because the vehicle has not been destroyed. If you are told it is being scrapped, you should receive the certificate.
What is the 5% that cannot be recovered?
Mostly contaminated plastics, composites and dirt that current technology cannot economically separate. That fraction shrinks a little every year as sorting improves.
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Get my priceRecovery and recycling targets are set by regulation 18 of the End-of-Life Vehicles (Producer Responsibility) Regulations 2005. Certificates of Destruction are issued under the End of Life Vehicle Regulations 2003 as amended. Last checked 28 August 2026. See also scrap car prices and the Million Car Study.
