Spanish auto recyclers prepare for EU recycled plastics mandate
Spain’s vehicle dismantling industry is adapting to EU rules requiring new cars to contain 15% recycled plastic in 2032 and 25% in 2036. The main challenge is producing material with the purity, quality and consistency required by automakers.
Recycled-content targets reshape dismantling
Spain’s 1,400 authorized vehicle treatment centers are preparing for a broader role in the automotive supply chain after the European Union introduced new requirements for recycled plastic in new cars. According to Energelia, the regulation that entered into force on August 13 requires recycled plastic to account for 15% of the plastic used in new vehicles in 2032. The share will rise to 25% in 2036.
The change moves dismantlers beyond their traditional focus on recovering metals and reusable components. They will also need to separate plastics capable of returning to vehicle production. For manufacturers, the mandate creates a need for dependable supplies of recycled polymers that meet demanding technical specifications. For dismantlers, shredders and recyclers, it raises the value of accurate material identification, sorting and traceability.
Spain has capacity, but collection remains below potential
Figures from the Spanish Association for the Environmental Treatment of End-of-Life Vehicles, Sigrauto, show that the national system includes 1,400 authorized treatment centers, 25 shredding facilities and 9 post-shredding plants. Together, they directly employ about 12,500 people. The centers received 671,675 vehicles last year, including almost 65,500 treated because of damage caused by the 2024 Valencia floods.
Excluding those flood-damaged vehicles, treatment volumes were almost unchanged, declining 0.59%. Sigrauto estimates that at least 750,000 vehicles should be processed annually, given that Spain’s vehicle fleet is more than 15 years old on average, according to industry association Anfac. Andalucía handled the largest number, at 122,334 vehicles, followed by the Valencian Community with 115,203, Catalonia with 79,641 and the Community of Madrid with 64,999.
Quality is the central plastics constraint
Sigrauto’s director general, Manuel Kindelan, said the main difficulty is not recovering plastic from dismantled vehicles. It is producing recycled material with the purity, quality and stability needed for incorporation into new automotive components. Vehicles currently reaching treatment centers are 21 years old on average and were designed when recyclability received much less attention.
Despite that limitation, about 85% of each vehicle’s weight is currently reused or recycled, according to Sigrauto. The recovery rate reaches 95% when energy recovery from certain fractions is included. More extensive requirements covering producer responsibility, treatment, depollution, removal of specific parts, shredding, information and traceability are expected to apply from 2029. Kindelan said many of these practices are already used by the Spanish industry.
Economics and electric vehicles add pressure
Rafael Azor Castaño, president of the Andalusian Association of Dismantlers, said separating plastics at source could be incorporated into routine depollution and component-removal work. However, he warned that the activity was unlikely to be independently viable without advanced material-identification tools or a more developed recycling market. Andalucía has 200 authorized centers serving a fleet of 6.55 million vehicles and generating a direct annual economic impact of €109.6 million.
Electric vehicles create an additional operational challenge. Treatment centers must develop capabilities for safely dismantling high-voltage systems, preventing fires and managing battery recycling. Investment in these areas will run alongside the changes needed to produce automotive-grade recycled plastic, making the period from 2029 to 2036 a critical implementation window for Spain’s dismantling and recycling network.
