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End of Life
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Opel, About Opel, Sustainability, End of Life

Recycling for our environment

Because the environment is so important to us, we're increasing the efficiency of our recycling process by designing products from the start to be sustainable.

Opel's design for sustainability is a key element in our product responsibility. And aims to decrease the waste produced during vehicle production as well as at the end the vehicle's life. Opel's design for sustainability is part of our commitment to the environment and the preservation of precious material and energy resources.

 

Design for sustainability

Makes recycling so much easier

In terms of product development Opel's recycling strategy is based on two cornerstones:

  • Design for sustainability
  • Development and implementation of material cycles for vehicle production.
Opel, Integrated Product Responsibility, recycling

Integrated product responsibility

Development

  • Life cycle asessments
  • Avoidance of critical materials

 

Production

  • Use of recycled materials (recyclates)

 

Usage

  • Dealership disposal (waste management)
  • Spare parts

 

Recovery

  • Vehicle recovery
  • De-pollution and pre-treatment
  • EU ELV-Directive
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To ensure that all Opel products meet our recycling aims, all Opel design teams must follow the 'Recyclability/Recoverability' guidelines. These guidelines have been created to support both Opel engineers and suppliers in their development of recyclable vehicles. This process also helps engineers to assess the ease at which parts, components etc. can be recycled at the end of the vehicle's life.
Opel, Recycling elements of design

Elements of design for sustainability

  • Recycling oriented material selection
  • Design for depollution
  • Design for pre-treatment
Opel has a long tradition of using recycled materials, also known as recyclates. Until today the usage of recyclates increased continuously. More than 230 plastic recyclate types have been specified and approved for use in production. From a technical perspective lots of efforts are made to increase the amount of recyclate materials in use.

In comparison to virgin materials, recyclates must fulfil all the same technical requirements. Recyclate materials are preferred when the part price does not increase. Quality is never compromised. Our recycling team takes every effort to maintain high quality look and feel, mechanical and thermal durability, along with performance standards.

In fact, because our recycled materials are of such a high standard and quality, they can now be used for visible parts as well as hidden parts of Opel cars.

Use of recycled materials

The highlighted parts can be made of recycled materials (example: Adam).

Recovery concept

For your end of Life Opel

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Delivery

The last owner takes the ELV to one of our contracted take-back partners. After checking the vehicle our take-back partner issues the required Certificate of Destruction (CoD).
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Pre-Treatment and Depollution

First of all the battery is taken off and the airbags are neutralized. Our take-back partner then takes out all fuels and other operating fluids of the ELV. This includes engine oil, transmission oil, brake fluid, coolant & refrigerant fluid from the air conditioning system.
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Dismantling

The next step is the dismantling of components and systems in order to market them as used parts or to use them as basis for remanufactured parts. If economically viable, materials like plastic or glass are taken off for recycling purposes.
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Storage

Environmentally hazardous materials are collected and later on sent to specialized recovery companies for recovery or disposal.
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Shredder

The pre-treated hulks are delivered to a shredder which segregates the ELV into pieces and sorts the output into various fractions for further recycling or recovery.
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Post-Shredder Technology (PST)

These segregated material fractions from the shredder are further processed with different technologies (magnet, eddy current, flotation) to obtain material fractions which can be used as valuable secondary raw materials.
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Recycling / Recovery / Landfill

Material fractions from the shredder and from the PST plants can be recycled (e.g. as replacement for coal in blast furnaces, dewatering means in sewage sludge) or recovered in the cement industry. This process enables a recovery of 95% of the vehicle and reduces drastically the amount of remaining waste for landfill.

Take-back network

Recycle your Opel

Through our end-of-life vehicle take-back process
We've always done our best to be environmentally friendly but now recycling is not a choice, it's part of the law. On 8 June 2006 the ELV (End-of-Life Vehicle) regulations came into force in Ireland. A recycling initiative that demands manufacturers decrease the amount of waste created during vehicle production and at the end of the vehicle's life.

As of 1 January 2007 all Opel cars can be returned by their owner to one of the Opel contract partners for vehicle take-back, at the end of its life. This is a free service, subject to certain conditions (please see below).

We want to make sure that your end-of-life vehicle is recycled in an environmentally friendly way. That's why we ensure that all our take-back locations fulfil the legal requirements of the ELV Regulations by having them certified by independent experts in accordance with the law. Each of our take-back partners, all processes and the documentation of all incoming and outgoing material streams will also be checked by our recycling experts.

Your end-of-life Opel is only applicable for our free take-back if:

  • Essential parts or components are not missing
  • The vehicle doesn't contain any non-automotive waste
  • The vehicle has up to 9 seats or is a Light Commercial Van up to 3.5 tonnes
  • The vehicle was finally registered in the EU
  • The vehicle was registered less than one month in the EU
  • The original vehicle papers have been handed over together with the vehicle
 

Hand back your end-of-life vehicle to our take-back partner and they'll give you a Certificate of Destruction (CoD), the paperwork you need to de-register your car. Now you can leave safe in the knowledge that your old car will be disposed of in the most environmentally friendly way.

Find your nearest Opel take-back partner.

https://www.elves.ie/Information-for-ATFs
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Feature descriptions and illustrations may refer to or show optional equipment not included in standard delivery. The information contained was accurate at the time of publishing. We reserve the right to make changes in design and equipment. The colors shown are approximate actual colors, only. Illustrated optional equipment is available at extra charge. Availability, technical features and equipment provided on our vehicles can vary or may only be available in certain countries or may be available at extra costs, only. For precise information on the equipment provided on our vehicles, please contact your local Opel dealer.

* The fuel consumption and CO2 emissions figures mentioned comply with the WLTP test procedure, on the basis of which new vehicles are type approved from 1 September 2018. This WLTP procedure replaces the European drive cycle (NEDC), which was the test procedure used previously. Due to more realistic test conditions, the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions measured under the WLTP are, in many cases, higher compared to those measured under the NEDC. The fuel consumption and CO2 emissions figures may vary depending on actual conditions of use and on different factors such as: specific equipment, options and format of tires. Please contact your dealer for further information. For more information on WLTP click here https://www.wltpfacts.eu/.

** The fuel consumption and CO2 emissions figures mentioned are determined according to the new test procedure WLTP and the relevant values are translated back into NEDC to allow the comparability with other vehicles. Please contact your dealer for the latest information. The values do not take into account in particular use and driving conditions, equipment or options and may vary depending on the format of tires. For more information on official fuel consumption and CO2 emission values, please read the guideline "Guideline for fuel consumption, CO2 emissions of new passenger cars" freely available in all point of sales.

*** The range and electric consumption figures mentioned comply with the WLTP test procedure, on the basis of which new vehicles are type approved from 1 September 2018. They may vary depending on actual conditions of use and on different factors such as: speed, thermal comfort on board the vehicle, driving style, vehicle load and outside temperature. The charging time depends in particular on the power of the charger on board the vehicle, the charging cable and the type and power of the charging station used. Please contact your dealer for further information. For more information on WLTP click here https://www.wltpfacts.eu/.

**** The fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and range figures mentioned comply with the WLTP test procedure, on the basis of which new vehicles are type approved from 1 September 2018. This WLTP procedure replaces the European drive cycle (NEDC), which was the test procedure used previously. Due to more realistic test conditions, the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions measured under the WLTP are, in many cases, higher compared to those measured under the NEDC. The fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and range figures may vary depending on actual conditions of use and on different factors such as: charging frequency, driving style, speed, specific equipment, options, format of tires, outside temperature and thermal comfort on board the vehicle. Please contact your dealer for further information. For more information on WLTP click here https://www.wltpfacts.eu/.

Please note: All information was accurate and up to date at the time of publication. Opel reserves the right to alter specifications at any time, which may affect the data shown. All figures quoted relate to the EU base model with standard equipment.