Toyota has become synonymous for promoting environmentally friendly motoring thanks to cars such as the Prius.

Yet, modern cars often need special care when they come to the end of their life due to materials used in their construction.

In a bid to ensure responsible disposal, the Japanese firm has launched its Rewarding Recycling programme, which it hopes will give customers peace of mind and ensures that end-of-life vehicle recycling is carried out to the highest environmental standards and in line with legal requirements.

The first step for owners wanting to dispose of their Toyota is to visit www.toyota.co.uk where they can input their vehicle registration number and postcode, generating an instant valuation for their car.

They can then select their preferred Toyota centre for dropping off their vehicle, and at the time of the hand-over they will be given a reference number. Entering this number online will automatically generate payment of the agreed vehicle value by secure transfer to the customer's chosen bank account, making the whole process cash-less.

After being received by the Toyota centre, the vehicle will be collected for final disposal by Autogreen, which has been Toyota's end-of-life vehicle recycling partner since 2005.

Commenting on the scheme, Thomas Rosselle, Toyota Manager CSR and Environmental Affairs, said: "We've introduced Rewarding Recycling not only to make the job of disposing of their car simpler for customers, but also to ensure the process is done in an environmentally responsible way.

"Putting this system in place supports our 360-degree environmental leadership that extends all the way from initial vehicle design, through production and customer ownership through to end-of-life recycling to the highest standards."