CITROËN’S COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Thinking about environmental issues from vehicle design to recycling
At every step of the vehicle life cycle, the teams at Citroën work hard to keep automotive environmental impact to a minimum by monitoring consumption, CO2 emissions and pollutants, maintaining mindful use of natural resources, improving recyclability and more.
Citroën is committed to:
- Thinking about environmental issues right from the design stage of its products and services
- Implementing circular economy principles, including material recycling and reuse.
DESIGN
PRODUCTION
AFTER-SALES
RECYCLING
There has been a structure set up for the environmentally-friendly collection and processing of end-of-life vehicles (ELV) within the Citroën network for over 15 years. There are 7 stages to the recycling process of a car.
STEP 1: TRADE-IN
The last owner of an end-of-life vehicle takes it to an approved trade-in centre. The approved trade-in centre then checks the vehicle and issues the required Certificate of Destruction (CoD).
STEP 2: PRE-PROCESSING AND DEPOLLUTION
The battery and tyres are removed, and the airbags neutralised. Next, our partner removes any remaining fuel and other liquids from the vehicle: engine oil, transmission oil, brake fluid, and air conditioning coolant. This pollutant waste will then have 100% of its value reinstated in their specialist treatment facility.
STEP 3: DISMANTLING FOR RE-USE
The next step consists of dismantling mechanic parts, bodywork, and electrical and electronic components. These will either be reused as used parts, or reconditioned. If it’s economically viable, materials such as plastic and glass are also salvaged for recycling at this point.
STEP 4: STORAGE
Environmentally hazardous materials are recovered and sent to companies specialising in waste recycling or destruction.
STEP 5: CRUSHING
The depolluted shells are sent to a crusher, where they are crushed and shredded into pieces only a few centimetres in size. These pieces are then sent through an initial magnetic sorting process to recover any ferrous metals (steel).
STEP 6: POST-CRUSHING
The remaining crushed material is sorted automatically, using physical properties (magnets, Eddy currents, flotation) to separate the different types of material fragments.
STEP 7: RECYCLING, RECOVERY AND LANDFILL
Once sorted, these material fragments are recycled (metals are sent to steelworks/metalworks, and certain plastics back to the plastics industry) or converted into energy (cement works, urban heating, power stations, etc.). This industrial process means that over 95% of a vehicle’s weight can be reused, recycled or upcycled, which greatly reduces the amount of final waste ultimately sent to specialist landfill sites.
RECYCLING OF YOUR CITROËN Trade-in scheme for end-of-life vehicles
Looking after the environment has always been a central focus for us. Now, end-of-life vehicle recycling has become a legal requirement.
This means that owners of any end-of-life Citroën vehicles can trade them in for free, providing that they fulfil certain conditions (listed below).
So we can make sure that your vehicle is recycled in the most environmentally-friendly way possible, we have commissioned a team of independent experts to check that vehicle returns are carried out correctly, and in compliance with current legislation. They also certify that our Partners fulfil all legal recycling requirements. This means that at each of their sites, all processes and documents relating to incoming and outgoing vehicles must comply with requirements set out by Citroën.
To make sure that all Citroën products can be properly recycled, our research and development teams follow recyclability and reuse processes.
These are also used by suppliers, and help us to analyse vehicle parts and components in terms of their recyclability and potential for reuse.
The conditions for sustainable design are:
- A range of sustainable materials
- Depollution as a design factor
- Deconstruction as a design factor.
You can trade in your end-of-life Citroën vehicle free of charge if:
- The vehicle has a maximum of 9 seats or is a commercial vehicle weighing less than 3.5 tonnes;
- The vehicle is registered in France;
- The vehicle still has all its essential parts;
- The vehicle does not contain any other waste;
- The vehicle’s original paperwork is returned at the same time as the vehicle.
DEVELOPMENT
- Life cycle analysis
- Selection of sustainable materials
PRODUCTION
- Use of recycled materials
ACTIVE LIFE
- Waste management and disposal by approved repairers
- Reuse and refurbishment of spare parts
TRADE-IN
- Vehicle trade-in
- Depollution and pre-processing
- Compliance with the EU directive