The FAB Promise

The Recycling Process

Every year, approximately 2.2 million new vehicles are registered and 2 million scrapped in the UK.  The average lifespan of a car is 13 years.  Vehicle dismantlers play a crucial role in the reuse and recycling of these vehicles.  The EU has set strict targets for the future, aiming for a 95% recovery rate by 2015.  Below is a summary of the depollution process at FAB.     

The BMW reaches the end of its life either due to old age or an accident.  An insurance inspection is carried out on the vehicle making note of the vehicles data, locations, incident details, damage description and pick up information

The BMW is catagorised C or D for repair as salvage or B for dismantling

BMW is cleared for sale

Registered ATF's (authorised treatment facilities), of which we are one, buy the vehicles throughout the UK.

FAB collect the vehicle

The BMW ID is checked and photographs are taken on arrival.  The vehicle is then booked onto our system noting the exact colour, mileage, type of transmission etc.  Each vehicle is given a stock code number

All parts are checked and tested where possible.  No BMW parts are sold from the "damage zone", for example, if a vehicle has an off side impact, no off side suspension parts would be sold.  Saleable parts are graded according to condition and then booked onto the computer system, each being given its own tag number. 

The BMWs are stored on an impermeable surface.  They generally will remain here until the engine has been sold.  Then the vehicle will begin the dismantling and depollution process

The wheels and tyres are removed.  Damaged wheels have their tyres removed and wheels sent for scrap metal.  Tyres are collected monthly for recycling.  Uses of recycled tyres include motorway embankments, sports tracks, roof tiles and an energy source for power stations

Gases and fluids are removed using specialist equipment, these include engine oil, gearbox oil, diff oil, brake fluid, anti freeze, power steering fluid, washer bottle fluid, petrol/diesel, batteries, air con gas and even the shock absorbers are drilled to remove the oil.  They are all stored separately and collected by specialist companies on a monthly basis for recycling.  A checklist is completed for each BMW showing what fluids etc have been removed.

Vehicle airbags are exploded in situ using specialist electrical connection for the vehicle.

All required re-usable BMW parts are removed from the vehicle (excluding those in the damage zone), labelled with the vehicle stock number and sent to the stores department for tagging and storing.  A stock rotation system ensures that only the lowest mileage items are kept and the highest mileage items are sent for recycling.  At FAB we also try to keep a selection of different coloured panels to reduce the costs and environmental impact of repainting. 

The vehicle is finally removed from the dismantling bay, photographed in its finished state and the images are stored against the vehicle for inspection by the insurer if required.

The vehicle is then loaded back onto the lorry and taken to the local scrap metal merchant for crushing.