CAR BREAKERS, Saint-Brieuc, Côte d’Armor, France (N 48°31’ , W 2°46’) Card 170x120mm with recycled envelope and biodegradable cello. Detailed caption on the reverse of the card. Card is blank for your own message.
CAR BREAKERS, Saint-Brieuc, Côte d’Armor, France (N 48°31’ , W 2°46’)
Crushed before being piled on top of each other, these vehicle carcasses are waiting for a time when they might increase in value. Before reaching this graveyard, cars at the end of their life are dismantled, pollutants removed and items of value taken for the second hand market or for recycling. There are around 2,000 car breakers in France but only 400 of them are certified by the National Committee of Automobile Professions as respecting safety and environmental protection rules. Breakers, the last link in the automobile industry chain and the first link in the recycling chain, have a key part to play in the processing of waste generated by the automobile market. In France, around 1 million vehicles go to the breakers each year. The European End of Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive, which requires automobile manufacturers to recycle 85% of their vehicles by weight from 2006 (95% in 2015), is the first step towards sustainable, responsible management of the sector.
© Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude - www.yannarthusbertrand.org - www.goodplanet.org
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