Certified Recycling

InterCar operates a network of authorised treatment facilities across Europe, ensuring every end-of-life vehicle is processed in full compliance with EU Directive 2000/53/EC and national regulations. Our certified recycling process achieves up to 95% material recovery through systematic depollution, dismantling, and material separation. Each authorised treatment facility in our network undergoes regular auditing by national environmental agencies and independent certification bodies, verifying compliance with waste management regulations, hazardous substance handling protocols, and material recovery targets. Our facilities are equipped with state-of-the-art depollution rigs, parts cataloguing systems, and material sorting technology that maximises the value recovered from every vehicle. The depollution phase alone involves the safe extraction and containment of engine oil, gearbox oil, brake fluid, power steering fluid, coolant, windscreen wash, fuel, air conditioning refrigerant, and any other fluids — all of which are processed through licensed waste streams for recycling or safe disposal. Pyrotechnic devices such as airbags and seatbelt pretensioners are deployed or removed by trained specialists before dismantling begins.

From the moment a vehicle enters our facility, we follow strict environmental protocols: all fluids are drained and stored safely, hazardous materials like airbags and batteries are removed by specialists, reusable parts are catalogued for resale, and the remaining shell is shredded and sorted for metal, plastic, and glass recycling. Our parts recovery operation is a critical element of the circular economy — components such as engines, gearboxes, alternators, starter motors, body panels, lights, mirrors, and interior trim are carefully removed, inspected, graded, and entered into our parts inventory system. These quality-checked used parts are then available for sale to repair garages, body shops, and private buyers, providing affordable alternatives to new OEM components while preventing perfectly functional parts from being needlessly destroyed. Parts that do not meet our quality standards for resale are separated by material type and channelled into appropriate recycling streams. The remaining vehicle shell — stripped of all fluids, hazardous materials, and reusable components — is crushed and fed into industrial shredders that separate ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals, plastics, rubber, glass, and textiles for recycling.

Vehicle owners receive an official Certificate of Destruction (CoD), and we handle all deregistration paperwork with local authorities. Our recycling service is completely free for end-of-life vehicles, including collection from your location anywhere in our service area. The Certificate of Destruction is a legally significant document that formally terminates your responsibility for the vehicle — without it, you may remain liable for road tax, insurance, parking violations, and environmental fines associated with the vehicle. InterCar issues CoDs immediately upon processing and transmits the relevant data to national vehicle registration authorities, ensuring your records are updated promptly. In addition to private vehicle owners, we serve insurance companies processing write-offs, police forces disposing of seized vehicles, local councils clearing abandoned cars, and fleet operators decommissioning ageing stock. Our free collection service covers all our operating countries, using our own fleet of flatbed transporters and partnering with licensed hauliers to ensure timely pickup from any location — residential, commercial, or roadside.