Cero
(Mahindra MSTC Recycling Pvt. Ltd.) has become India’s first authorised
recycler for motor vehicles, having received accreditation by the Delhi
Government on December 21, 2018. Cero, a joint venture between Mahindra Accelo
and MSTC (a Government of India enterprise under the Ministry of Steel) has
established India’s first organised, fully compliant, pollution free recycling
facility at Greater Noida.
The
company is planning to start operations very soon at five other locations and
subsequently across the country.
End
of Life vehicles are collected, depolluted and dismantled at this state of the
art facility. The facility embraces a zero pollution objective, (hence the name
Cero which means ‘Zero’ in Spanish), and the automated plant has the capacity to
recycle old trucks, buses, cars, two / three wheelers and consumer durables.
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The
Cero facility follows Environmental compliances ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS
18001 and all international quality norms. Zhooben Bhiwandiwala, President –
Mahindra Partners and Group Legal, Member of the Group Executive Board, “This
accreditation recognises Mahindra’s leadership commitment in addressing issues
of sustainability by focusing on the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle principle. Cero
aims to organise the end of life vehicle eco-system which is currently entirely
unorganised & inefficient. Cero’s parent organisation, Mahindra Accelo, has
already signed up for the Science Based targets Initiative launched at the Bonn
Climate Conference in May 2018.”
There
are an estimated 40 lakh vehicles which have been deregistered by the Delhi
Transport Department and cannot legally ply in Delhi. Scrapping of old vehicles
leads to recovery of many metals, especially steel which makes up 65-70% of a
vehicle. Organised steel recovery will significantly reduce the country’s
dependence on imported steel scrap.
Sumit
Issar, Managing Director, Mahindra Accelo, “Large urban cities like Delhi are
facing serious health hazards due to old polluting vehicles that are on the
roads. Citizens who want to dispose their vehicles have extremely limited
options for doing so in a responsible, environmentally compliant manner. This
is where the services of an accredited recycler like Cero offers a complaint
pollution free certification.
Owners
of old vehicles can now contact Cero for a seamless end to end experience
supported by official certification. It handles the entire value chain from
collection of the vehicle till its official de-registration at the RTO. The customer is issued an official
certificate of destruction to ensure the vehicle / engine is not being used
illegally. A customer can call Cero’s toll free number 1800-267-6000 or log on
to http://www.cerorecyling.com/ and register an inquiry. Once an enquiry is
registered, the entire process is handled by the Cero team. Customers get
fairly compensated for the salvage value of the vehicle. One can also choose to
donate one’s vehicle, with the proceeds being contributed to the Nanhi Kali
programme of the Mahindra Foundation. An official 80G certificate for tax
exemption will be issued to the owner.
The
growing trajectory of vehicles in the market, many of which are old and
unsuitable for roads, is one of the key causes of ever rising pollution levels.
A 15 year old passenger car is responsible for polluting air 8 times more than
a new one, and a 15 year old truck is responsible for polluting air 10 times
more than a new one.
The
National Green tribunal (NGT) had prohibited the plying of 15-year-old petrol
and 10-year-old diesel vehicles in Delhi-NCR, and the transport department had
announced that such vehicles will be impounded if found violating the rile.
Describing the pollution situation as “very critical”, the Supreme Court too
had directed the transport department to publish a list of such vehicles on its
portal.