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Code of Practice/Audits

Canadian Auto Recyclers’ Environmental Code (CAREC)

All Our Members Are Certified to Meet the Standards of the Canadian Auto Recyclers’ Environmental Code (CAREC)

The National Code of Practice for Automotive Recyclers was developed by the Automotive Recyclers of Canada (ARC) for Environment Canada in 2008 for recyclers participating in the National Vehicle Recycling Program called “Retire Your Ride” in order to standardize the process for recycling end-of-life vehicles (ELV’s) and to protect our water, air and soil from the harmful materials they contain. Given the popularity and success of the code, OARA decided to not only continue with the program, but to expand its scope after the Retire Your Ride program ended in March 2011.

The Code of Practice was renamed the Canadian Auto Recyclers’ Environmental Code (CAREC) and expanded to cover all end-of- life vehicles (not just those targeted by the Retire Your Ride program).

CAREC has 3 main goals:

  • To convey the legal and mandatory requirements before, during, and after the recycling process and promote best management practices within the industry;
  • To promote pollution prevention and the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) in the vehicle recovery industry to reduce the ecological impact of the automotive sector; and
  • To ensure that there is a consistent set of practices that are aligned, as much as possible, with federal, provincial, and municipal laws and regulations, as well as with product and industry stewardship programs, where applicable.

OARA has made it a policy that any new or existing member must be audited by an independent third party and certified to meet the standards of the the Canadian Auto Recyclers’ Environmental Code. We believe in the code so fervently that we have been lobbying the provincial government to adopt it as a requirement for anyone processing ELV’s in Ontario.

Read more about CAREC, go the their website here

Canadian auto recyclers environmental code

Code of Ethics

As a condition of membership in the Ontario Automotive Recyclers Association, our members agree:

  • To respect the reputation, profile and status of the Ontario Automotive Recyclers Association, and represent the Association accordingly;
  • To operate according to the ordinances, statutes and laws of the various jurisdictions;
  • To promote the conservation of energy and the total utilization of our natural and manufactured resources;
  • To minimize the reduction of usable automotive parts to scrap, as long as we believe there remains a reasonable potential of saving the energy it represents, by negating the need to manufacture a similar replacement part;
  • To maintain a clean and non-polluting environment in and around our place(s) of business;
  • To participate in the functions and activities of the Association, and where possible lend my/our business and professional expertise