Loxam launches second equipment recycling centre

Rental company Loxam has opened a new, 1.3 ha recycling site in St Paterno, Sarthe, France, to receive its used fleet to be scrapped, resold to export markets or recycled for components.

The new site is close to its existing 800 m² recycling site in Alençon. Jean-Philippe Theuriot, director of Loxam equipment, told IRN that the site was built to handle used construction machines from Loxam France as well as some Loxam Belgium machines.

“On average, the machines coming into the centre are around eight years old, although this depends on the type of machine," he said.

“We keep all our fleet well-maintained during the rental period, and when they arrive in the centre we have three possibilities – either completely scrap some or all of the machine; re-sell the machine through auctions or dedicated second-hand brokers for export outside Europe; or disassemble the machine and reclaim components for use as spare parts in our depots.”

In addition to recycling its old fleet, Loxam also sends all its depot waste to its recycling sectors, where some can also be reconditioned.

Mr Theuriot added, “For instance, when we change the tracks on mini excavators, we send all the old tracks to be retreated and then re-sold.

"We re-treat 340 a tonnes of rubber tracks a year. We also re-sell batteries and other components. Through this process we consider the entire lifecycle of the machines.”

Loxam said its recycling initiative had already resulted in “several million Euros” in savings from its existing Alencon plant. It said it had grown the initiative to the new St Paterno site to enable it to be more responsive to the logistical requirements related to materials management.

“As well as saving us money, the recycling initiative also has environmental benefits,” Mr Theuriot added.