Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Volkswagen Receives Environmental Award from Federation of German Industries

Text from Volkswagen AG.
In honor of Volkswagen’s achievements in pioneering car recycling technology

Wolfsburg/Berlin, 20 June 2006 - The Federation of German Industries (BDI) today presented an environmental award to Volkswagen and its partner company SiCon in Berlin. BDI thus honored Volkswagen’s commitment to an end of life vehicle recycling process characterized by its high environmental compatibility and ability to preserve resources. Volkswagen developed the technology, which converts waste back into raw materials, in cooperation with SiCon GmbH. On June 1, Volkswagen received an environmental award for this process from the European Commission.

The BDI environmental prize was today presented by BDI President Jürgen R. Thumann and the Chairman of the BDI Environment Committee Prof. Wilfried Bockelmann. The award-winning Volkswagen-SiCon process recovers materials from end of life vehicle residue which in the past could not be viably separated. The treated secondary raw materials can then be returned to production processes rather than ending up on landfills or in waste incineration plants.

“This recycling technology underlines Volkswagen’s commitment to sustainable development. It closes the cycle of environmentally sound production, clean operation and subsequent recycling. For us, end of life vehicles are not tiresome waste, but rather a valuable raw material source. That is why we developed the appropriate processes for environmentally compatible recycling at an early stage,” commented the Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, Dr. Bernd Pischetsrieder, during the award ceremony in Berlin.

Following treatment in the Volkswagen-SiCon process, hard plastics, rubber, textiles, glass and metal residues replace primary raw materials and thus contribute to protecting natural resources. Apart from the ecological aspect, this process presents an economically attractive alternative for secondary raw material users as raw material prices continue to rise.

The demonstration plant for the Volkswagen-SiCon process is located in Kallo near Antwerp, Belgium, on the site of one of Europe’s most progressive scrap recycling companies Belgian Scrap Terminal N.V. (BST). Further plants based on this process are planned or under construction in seven European countries.

Other links: www.volkswagen-nachhaltigkeit.de; www.volkswagen-umwelt.de