Finland’s vehicle recycling system continues to draw attention beyond Europe. In early August, Kuusakoski hosted an international delegation at its Heinola facility to share insights into how circular practices, regulatory frameworks and digital innovation are shaping the future of car recycling.

At the beginning of August, we had the honour of welcoming professor Sandra Goldmark from Columbia University and a leading advocate for circularity, to our Heinola recycling facility. She was accompanied by Ilkka Räsänen, Senior Advisor at The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, and Juha Kenraali, CEO of Finnish Car Recycling Ltd.

The guests were particularly interested in how Finland’s vehicle recycling system works in practice – a system that stands out internationally for its environmental effectiveness and high recovery rates.

Kuusakoski was the first of the four recycling operators to integrate our own digital platform with the national system.

Sandra Goldmark, whose work in the US focuses on sustainable design, reuse and practical circular economy solutions, noted several parallels in the challenges and opportunities facing both Europe and North America.

DIGITALISATION, REGULATION AND THE DELV PLATFORM

Discussions during the visit touched on shared global drivers: regulation, customer value, and digitalisation – including the DELV platform and how Finland’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) system operates in practice. DELV is the new digital platform for Finland’s car recycling ecosystem, co-created by Finnish Car Recycling and Sitra. Kuusakoski was the first of the four recycling operators to integrate our own digital platform with the national system – and this was not by coincidence.

Kuusakoski has long played a central role in developing Finland’s car recycling infrastructure. “We were the first company in Finland to invest in an industrial shredder back in 1972 – and even in Europe, there were only a few similar facilities at the time,” explains Tuomas Haikka, CSO and Director of Public Affairs at Kuusakoski.

Exploring car recycling at Heinola. From left: Juha Kenraali, Luke Goldmark, Sandra Goldmark, Tuomas Haikka, Ilkka Räsänen, Tuomas Mantere.

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE OF VEHICLE RECYCLING

Kuusakoski remains committed to staying at the forefront of the sector. “For example, we’ve invested in Finland’s first pre-treatment unit for electric and hybrid vehicles, and we’re continuously developing our operations to respond to new regulatory requirements. Our ambition is still to lead the renewal of the entire sector,” Haikka adds.

The growing importance of ecodesign as enabler for circularity in the society was highlighted on both sides of the Atlantic, as a key focus area going forward.

EXPLORE MORE

Read more about the visitors:
Sandra Goldmark – Columbia Climate School
Ilkka Räsänen – Sitra (in Finnish)

Read more about DELV (Digital platform for Finland’s ELV ecosystem)

Learn more about our car recycling service in Finland, in English