Mahindra in association with Metal Scrap Trade Corporation Limited (MSTC) is exploring a new business opportunity in India which is in line with Government's upcoming Vehicle Scrap Policy which aims at scrapping end of life vehicles (15 years or more old vehicles). Mahindra Accelo (a completely owned subsidiary of Mahindra) has formed a joint venture with MSTC to pioneer in the Vehicle recycling business under a new brand- CERO (Mahindra MSTC Recycling PVT. LTD.). The CERO brand had received accreditation by the Delhi Government on December 21 and is India's first authorized recycler of vehicles.
The name CERO in Spanish means Zero and has been the choice as the facility aims to achieve Zero pollution. The CERO facility follows environmental compliances ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and all international quality norms. The scrapping of old vehicles leads to the recovery of many metals, especially steel which makes up 65 per cent to 70 per cent of a vehicle. The CERO facility has the capacity to recycle old Trucks, Buses, Cars, Two & Three wheelers and Consumer durables. CERO handles the entire process from collection of the vehicle till the official de-registration at the RTO and the customer is issued an official certificate of destruction to ensure that the vehicle or its components are not being used illegally.
CERO has set-up India's first organized recycling facility at Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh and the facility is claimed to be pollution free. CERO will collect end of life vehicles which will be depolluted and dismantled here. Commenting on the beginning, Zhooben Bhiwandiwala, President - Mahindra Partners and Group Legal, Member of the Group Executive Board said, "This accreditation recognizes Mahindra's leadership commitment in addressing issues of sustainability by focusing on the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle principle. CERO aims to organize the end of life vehicle eco-system which is currently entirely unorganized & inefficient. CERO's parent organization, Mahindra Accelo, has already signed up for the Science-Based targets Initiative launched at the Bonn Climate Conference in May 2018." CERO is planning to start operations at five more locations very soon.
Vehicle owners who will bring their cars to CERO for recycling will get fair compensation for the salvage value of their vehicles and additionally, they will get an official 80G certificate for tax exemption. The owners also have the choice to donate the compensation amount to the Nanhi Kali program.
