{"id":19804,"date":"2019-01-01T14:40:45","date_gmt":"2019-01-01T11:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tarhabpolymer.com\/?p=19804"},"modified":"2024-08-19T16:16:22","modified_gmt":"2024-08-19T11:46:22","slug":"toward-total-car-recycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tarhabpolymer.com\/en\/toward-total-car-recycling\/","title":{"rendered":"Toward Total Car Recycling"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"c2Wrapper\">\n<div class=\"c2Middle\">\n<div class=\"innertube\">\n<div>\n<div id=\"bodyContent_ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_detailContainer\">\n<div class=\"sfitemDetails sfdetails\" data-sf-provider=\"OpenAccessProvider\" data-sf-id=\"c472d31e-8fb8-66e3-af13-ff0000e99eee\" data-sf-type=\"Telerik.Sitefinity.DynamicModules.Model.DynamicContent\">\n<div class=\"sfitemRichText\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-sf-field=\"Summary\" data-sf-ftype=\"LongText\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Carmakers around the world are working with scrap recyclers and other groups to solve current car recycling problems and prevent future ones.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"sfitemRichText\" dir=\"ltr\" data-sf-field=\"Content\" data-sf-ftype=\"LongText\">\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">September\/October 1992<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Carmakers around the world are working with scrap recyclers and other groups to solve current car recycling problems and prevent future ones.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20629 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/tarhabpolymer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/recycled-cars-S.jpg\" alt=\"\u0628\u0627\u0632\u064a\u0627\u0641\u062a \u06a9\u0627\u0645\u0644 \u062e\u0648\u062f\u0631\u0648\u0647\u0627\" width=\"600\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tarhabpolymer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/recycled-cars-S.jpg 600w, https:\/\/tarhabpolymer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/recycled-cars-S-480x306.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">BY\u00a0KENT\u00a0KISER<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Kent Kiser is associate editor of\u00a0<em>Scrap Processing and Recycling.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Imagine if cars were 100-percent recyclable.\u00a0\u00a0At the end of their useful lives, they could be easily disassembled, with most parts being resold as replacements or reused as feedstock for new car parts or raw material for nonautomotive applications.\u00a0The remaining &#8220;clean&#8221; hulk could then be shredded, producing no auto shredder residue (ASR)\u2014fluff.\u00a0\u00a0The process would be an entirely closed-loop, zero-waste cycle.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">While this scenario is still only a dream, automakers are working with scrap recyclers, dismantlers, parts suppliers, and researchers to achieve something closer to recycling perfection.\u00a0Environmental improvement is no longer a cost of doing business for carmakers, it\u00a0is\u00a0their business.\u00a0The threat of restrictive environmental legislation, the pressure to remain competitive with other automakers, and public demand for environmentally improved cars are all prompting carmakers to &#8220;go green.&#8221;\u00a0In the words of one auto executive, carmakers must increasingly &#8220;take responsibility for the damage cars inflict on the world.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">In response, every major car manufacturer has initiated some type of design, disassembly, and\/or recycling program.\u00a0\u00a0For scrap recyclers, these efforts could mitigate current car recycling problems.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Fluff at the Forefront<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Of course, car recycling isn&#8217;t totally problematic; it has its share of success stories.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, nearly 30 million cars throughout the world are recycled every year, according to Karl-Heinz Ziwica, general manager of environmental engineering for BMW of North America Inc. (Montvale,\u00a0N.J.).\u00a0\u00a0Next to lead-acid batteries, cars are the world&#8217;s most recycled consumer product, achieving a recycling rate of approximately 93 percent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Within each scrapped vehicle, however, 70 to 80 percent of its components are currently recycled, including ferrous and nonferrous metals, lead-acid batteries, catalytic converters, and used motor oil.\u00a0The car recycling &#8220;movement,&#8221; therefore, is targeting the remaining 20 to 30 percent of automotive materials that end up in shredder fluff\u2014primarily nonmetallic car materials such as plastics, glass, rubber, carpet, and dirt.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Of all fluff materials, automotive plastics\u2014which account for one-third of\u00a0ASR\u00a0by weight\u2014are receiving the most significant attention.\u00a0Why this focus on plastics?\u00a0Because, in part, they present the most promising opportunities for recycling.\u00a0At the same time, they are a serious impediment to current car recycling efforts and represent a costly liability to shredder operators.\u00a0The growing use of plastics in cars has reduced the quantity of metal in car hulks and increased the quantity of\u00a0ASR\u00a0generated, which, when added to rising per-ton disposal costs, have made car recycling far less profitable.\u00a0\u00a0Moreover, a typical car contains 20 to 40 plastic resins that are usually incompatible for recycling together.\u00a0Plastic parts can also be painted and\/or contain adhesives, which further impedes their recycling.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">If the auto shredding industry is to remain viable, recyclers say, plastics and other nonmetallic automotive materials must become more recyclable to reduce the quantity ofASR\u00a0, and markets for the recovered materials must be developed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Past Designs, Current Obstacles<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">The car recycling problem, and particularly the automotive plastic problem, requires a two-part answer:\u00a0\u00a0one for cars already built\u2014and many being built\u2014and one for cars yet to be designed and built.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Today&#8217;s cars pose the most pressing and daunting challenges because, simply put, they were not designed for easy disassembly or recycling.\u00a0\u00a0Still, carmakers are promoting several options to deal with the plastic parts and fluff from old cars.\u00a0BMW AG (\u00a0Munich\u00a0,\u00a0Germany\u00a0), for example, has advanced a &#8220;cascade&#8221; model of car recycling procedures that encompasses\u2014in order of preference\u2014reuse of parts as spares or reconditioned replacements;\u00a0direct material recycling;\u00a0\u00a0chemical recycling;\u00a0and energy recovery.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">In the BMW scheme, plastic parts, if not resold as replacements, should be removed prior to shredding to reduce the potential amount of\u00a0ASR\u00a0.\u00a0These parts can be processed, then remanufacured into new parts through particle bonding, injection molding, or compression molding.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Plastic bumpers are especially suited to such recycling.\u00a0Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (\u00a0Tokyo\u00a0) is recycling polypropylene (PP) bumpers, using a technology that removes paint from the bumpers.\u00a0The recovered plastic is used to make air ducts, rear bumper parts, foot rests, and transport pallets.\u00a0The program, begun in\u00a0Kanagawa\u00a0,\u00a0Japan\u00a0, will be expanded throughout that country, the company says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Nissan has initiated a similar program with its 875 dealerships in\u00a0Germany\u00a0, which divert an estimated 47,000 PP bumpers from German landfills each year.\u00a0The company also plans to eventually recycle polyurethane bumpers and has reportedly developed a method for processing used automotive thermoplastics with glass fiber and powdered thermoplastic resin to produce a plastic sheet that can be stamped into a variety of new parts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Two problems exist with direct recycling of car parts, however.\u00a0First, points out Stuart Padnos, senior executive vice president of Louis Padnos Iron &amp; Metal Co. (Holland, Mich.), &#8220;car parts will only be removed if there&#8217;s a payback,&#8221; and there are few consuming markets, and little or no margin, for recovered automotive plastics now.\u00a0&#8220;The key issue is increasing the value of the automotive materials that aren&#8217;t currently recycled,&#8221; adds Sandy S. Labana, manager of the polymer science department of Ford Motor Co. (Dearborn\u00a0,\u00a0Mich.\u00a0).\u00a0&#8220;We have to make those materials more valuable than the net costs of recovering and reprocessing them.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">The second problem is that less than a third of all plastics are suitable for reuse through direct material recycling, according to Horst M. Rothermel, director of applications development for the automotive polyurethane division of Bayer AG (Leverkusen,\u00a0Germany).\u00a0&#8220;Direct reuse of parts by material recycling is highly popular,&#8221; he notes, &#8220;but may not always be the most effective answer.&#8221;\u00a0\u00a0Most of the time, says Labana, &#8220;the limiting factor is contamination such as mixing different polymers or recycling clean parts with those covered with paint or adhesives.\u00a0We&#8217;re trying to reduce the problem in the future, but it&#8217;s not going to disappear.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Chemical, or indirect, recycling approaches\u2014the next step down BMW&#8217;s &#8220;cascade&#8221;\u2014include hydrolysis, glycolysis, pyrolysis, and hydrogenation, which break plastic polymers into monomers and other molecular materials for reuse by the plastic and oil-refinery industries.\u00a0\u00a0When applied to polyurethane parts, for example, the first two technologies recover liquid components that can be returned to the original production cycle, while the last two yield gas, oil, and a char.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Indirect recycling processes can be used on a limited number of polymers, including tereppphthalate, polyurethane, and polyamide, Labana notes.\u00a0&#8220;You can produce a pure product using these processes,&#8221; he says, &#8220;and they offer more leeway on contamination than direct recycling methods.&#8221;\u00a0\u00a0There are concerns, however, with the costs of such processes compared to direct methods.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">While these direct and indirect recycling methods offer promise, there comes a time when &#8220;we sooner or later have to choose whether to dispose of plastic waste in landfills or by incineration,&#8221; asserts Rothermel.\u00a0\u00a0&#8220;As regards landfills, space is getting rare and costs are rising.\u00a0That&#8217;s why the ultimate solution for plastic waste management is waste-to-energy reclamation.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">The final stage of the BMW plan is energy recovery, which encompasses smoldering sintering, high-temperature gasification, and incineration in a rotary kiln or fluidized bed.\u00a0The advantages of these process are that they exploit the petroleum content of plastics, and can consume large quantities of plastic residues.\u00a0In the end, only an inert, organic residual ash reportedly would have to be landfilled.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Exploring Different Approaches<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Other European automakers have approached the car recycling problem from different angles.\u00a0In France, Peugeot SA Group (La Garenne-Colombes, France) has joined with Compagnie Francaise des Ferrailles, a scrap recycler, and Vicat, a cement maker, to establish a pilot car recycling plant near\u00a0Lyon\u00a0.\u00a0\u00a0The $4-million, two-year venture, launched in June 1991, involves three processing &#8220;programs&#8221;\u2014vehicle disassembly, shredding, and fluff treatment\u2014all aimed at achieving a zero-waste recycling process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">After spent cars are drained of fluids, dismantled, and shredded, the remaining fluff is sent through several additional processing steps, including suctioning, magnetic\/antimagnetic separation, and screening, to clean the material.\u00a0\u00a0The purified fluff is then treated to produce pellets that reportedly can be used as a fuel for cement kilns or as a raw material in asphalt, insulation, and waterproofing materials.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Mercedes-Benz AG (\u00a0Stuttgart\u00a0,\u00a0Germany\u00a0) has taken a totally different approach, eliminating shredding and, therefore, the fluff problem altogether in its proposed metallurgical recycling system.\u00a0Under the Mercedes plan, after all fluids are drained from scrapped cars, engines would be pulled and either reconditioned for resale or shredded alone.\u00a0All batteries, catalytic converters, and copper-bearing wires, motors, and cables also would be dismantled, then, all recyclable plastic parts would be removed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">The remaining hulk, including the tires and some plastics, would be baled and fed into a natural-gas-fired steel smelter.\u00a0\u00a0The plastics and other organics would reportedly combust and provide energy for the process, any heavy metals would enter the baghouse dust, and other residual materials would enter the slag, which could be used by the construction industry, the carmaker reports.\u00a0In addition, the heat produced reportedly would be recirculated through the system.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Mercedes-Benz developed this system in a venture with Austrian steelmaker Voest-Alpine Stahl AG, launched in August 1990.\u00a0The companies are currently testing the system in a pilot program.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Designing for the Future<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Such projects as these have demonstrated to carmakers that it&#8217;s easier to build recyclability into new cars than to play a game of catch-up with old vehicles.\u00a0&#8220;We have to deal with older cars and the materials and designs that existed in the past, but we don&#8217;t have to let that situation continue,&#8221; Labana says.\u00a0\u00a0Hence, most auto recycling work is future-looking and based on two different but overlapping concepts\u2014Design for Recycling[R] and design for disassembly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Among the efforts included in these design concepts are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">easing the removal of automotive parts;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">eliminating nonrecyclable or hazardous materials;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">reducing the variety of plastics used in parts (carmakers reportedly draw from a spectrum of more than 120 different thermoplastics and thermosets);<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">avoiding parts that combine incompatible materials\u2014such as plastics and metals\u2014or making such parts easily separable from each other; and<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">making plastic parts easier to identify by resin type.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Progress on some of these points has been made already.\u00a0\u00a0Most carmakers, for example, are identifying the resins used in plastic parts weighing more than 100 grams, stamping them according to codes developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (\u00a0Pittsburgh\u00a0).\u00a0\u00a0BMW has taken this a step further by developing a color-coded reference system that enables dismantlers to identify and separate different plastic parts in older-model cars, according to the company&#8217;s Ziwica.\u00a0&#8220;The main difficulty in recycling cars lies in plastic parts identification,&#8221; he explains.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">BMW has also opened a car disassembly plant in\u00a0Landshut,\u00a0Germany.\u00a0Begun in June 1990, the operation is working to fulfill a variety of objectives related to future vehicle design.\u00a0In addition to developing disassembly procedures and tools\/equipment, the plant is being called on to help speed up and reduce costs of disassembly procedures.\u00a0The plant is also supposed to develop an internal and external infrastructure to collect, store, and transport recovered components for reconditioning, resale, or recycling;\u00a0\u00a0develop recycling guidelines for production to be used at BMW factories; and explore far-reaching waste management and recycling technologies for the auto industry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">As a further part of its design for disassembly and Design for Recycling [R] plans, the carmaker is working with existing private dismantlers and recyclers in Germany in an effort to arrange more than 100 authorized disassembly and recycling plants by 1995.\u00a0&#8220;Using conservative measures, we plan to achieve 90-percent recyclability within the next 10 years,&#8221; Ziwica says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">In the\u00a0United States\u00a0, BMW of\u00a0North America\u00a0Inc. (Montvale,\u00a0N.J.) is following the lead of its parent company.\u00a0\u00a0In cooperation with the Automotive Dismantlers &amp; Recyclers Association (Fairfax,\u00a0Va.), the firm has launched a two-year pilot car recycling program, involving three\u00a0U.S.\u00a0auto dismantlers:\u00a0Hunts Point Auto Parts (Bronx,\u00a0N.Y.), Lakenor Auto Salvage (Santa Fe Springs,\u00a0Calif.), and Michael Auto Parts (Orlando,\u00a0Fla.).\u00a0\u00a0When one of these firms receives a scrapped BMW, it drains all fluids, removes the lead-acid battery and air bag, dismantles all economically salvageable parts for resale or for use as raw materials by other industries, then ships the hulk to a shredder.\u00a0To promote the program, BMW is offering BMW owners who return their old cars to these centers a $500 voucher that can be applied toward the purchase of a new or approved used BMW.\u00a0\u00a0BMW of Canada Inc. reportedly plans to establish a similar dismantling project in that country.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Though such projects are laudable, as many point out, they have two major flaws.\u00a0For one thing, the environmental benefits of Design for Recycling[R] and design for disassembly won&#8217;t be felt significantly for more than a decade, when new-model cars are retired.\u00a0\u00a0Furthermore, while the time-consuming practice of complete car disassembly may be feasible\u2014or required\u2014in\u00a0Europe\u00a0, it may not work in the\u00a0United States\u00a0.\u00a0&#8220;Disassembly is very expensive,&#8221; Labana notes.\u00a0&#8220;It may be a technical option, but it isn&#8217;t an economically viable option.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20627 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/tarhabpolymer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/recycled-cars-S2.jpg\" alt=\"\u0628\u0627\u0632\u064a\u0627\u0641\u062a \u062e\u0648\u062f\u0631\u0648\" width=\"600\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tarhabpolymer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/recycled-cars-S2.jpg 600w, https:\/\/tarhabpolymer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/recycled-cars-S2-480x306.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Two\u2014or More\u2014Heads Are Better Than One<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">In addition to their individual efforts, many carmakers have formed cooperative partnerships with other carmakers and\/or automotive-related groups to share knowledge, work for a universal recycling solution, and prevent each other from having to reinvent the wheel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">In the United States, Detroit&#8217;s &#8220;Big Three&#8221;\u2014Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., and Chrysler Corp.\u2014have formed the Vehicle Recycling Partnership (VRP), which also includes participants of the scrap recycling, parts supply, plastic, and dismantling industries, as well as university and government research labs.\u00a0Through the VRP, four working groups are addressing different automobile recycling issues:\u00a0ASR\u00a0, disassembly, design guidelines, and communications.\u00a0\u00a0The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) (Washington,\u00a0D.C.), which represents scrap recyclers on the VRP, is an active participant in three of the four working groups.\u00a0&#8220;ISRI believes that only through a cooperative effort is success attainable,&#8221; says Herschel Cutler, the association&#8217;s executive director.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">In the 1960s, cooperative work between carmakers, scrap recyclers, and the government helped solve the abandoned car problem, and a similar victory can be won regarding car recycling and shredder fluff today, automakers assert.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Overseas, six German carmakers are working together in a group called PRAVDA, which is conducting a feasibility study with dismantlers and plastic producers to examine car recycling technologies, logistics, and costs.\u00a0In the\u00a0United Kingdom\u00a0, domestic automakers\u2014including Rover, Vauxhall, Jaguar, and others\u2014are addressing the issue through the Automotive Consortium on Recycling and Disposal.\u00a0The British government is also getting involved.\u00a0The country&#8217;s Department of Trade and Industry has established a research consortium, providing a grant of about $524,000 for examining the technical and commercial feasibility of reusing scrap automotive plastics, conducting bench studies of car recycling processes, and launching pilot projects to implement recycling procedures on a large scale.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">The Legislative\/Regulatory Threat<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">European automakers have been forced to move faster on car recycling issues than their\u00a0U.S.\u00a0counterparts due to stringent governmental measures and pressure from environmental groups.\u00a0\u00a0In\u00a0Germany, proposed laws would require automakers to accept their scrapped cars from the final owners at no charge, find ways to recycle or reuse automotive materials, establish a national network of car dismantling plants, and design new cars for total recyclability.\u00a0\u00a0Another measure under consideration in\u00a0Germany\u00a0calls for shredder fluff to be reclassified from its current definition as a light waste to that of a special waste.\u00a0According to German recycling executives, this could boost\u00a0ASR disposal costs to the equivalent of more than $200 a ton, intensifying the need for immediate recycling solutions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">U.S.\u00a0carmakers are free from such severe constraints\u2014for now.\u00a0\u00a0And one benefit of the VRP is that it sends a signal to the U.S. government that the domestic auto industry is addressing car recycling issues on its own, precluding the need for government involvement, says Victor H. Sussman Jr., director of the environmental quality office for Ford Motor Co. (Dearborn, Mich.).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Nevertheless, a recent study by the Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation, reveals that most automotive experts polled expect vehicle recycling legislation to be enacted in the 1990s. No one knows what form this legislation might take, but many expect it to target material identification requirements, manufacturing and design constraints, or recycled-material use requirements. Plastics recycling will likely be key in any legislation, but mandates might also require a better labeling of ferrous components and their alloy content.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">&#8220;I think we&#8217;ll see some kind of legislation in the next few years,&#8221; Labana says, pointing out that laws already exist for the handling of tires, lead-acid batteries, and freon.&#8221;My hope is that we can open a dialog with legislators and work with them so the legislation is something we can meet without too much disruption.&#8221;\u00a0\u00a0Burdensome laws and regulations would only serve to increase automakers&#8217; costs and reduce manufacturing flexibility, Sussman points out, adding his belief that if regulations are passed, they should be market-based, not command-and-control mandates.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Toward a Greener Future<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">In the end, carmakers, scrap recyclers, and other automotive-related groups want the same thing\u2014to improve the recyclability of cars\u2014but they want it for different reasons.\u00a0\u00a0Recyclers, for one, want automakers to reduce or eliminate materials that contaminate or increase the volume of shredder fluff.\u00a0\u00a0They&#8217;re also concerned about some critical issues that persist despite automaker recycling programs.\u00a0&#8220;While these concepts and undertakings are to be applauded, the use of the phrase `recyclable&#8217; points out a continuing issue,&#8221; Cutler observes.\u00a0\u00a0&#8220;Will the material indeed be recycled?\u00a0\u00a0Is there a market for it?\u00a0\u00a0Without a market for materials that are collected and\/or separated, there&#8217;s no way to ensure that what&#8217;s `recyclable&#8217; will, in fact, be recycled.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Carmakers, on the other hand, see the situation this way, Labana says:\u00a0&#8220;Recycling is good and we should do it, but a car&#8217;s quality in terms of strength and durability should not be compromised.&#8221;\u00a0\u00a0Put another way, automakers question whether reusable parts will meet the safety, performance, and longevity standards of virgin parts.\u00a0\u00a0They&#8217;re also concerned that creating more-recyclable cars will add to production costs, hamstringing the automaking industry and adding to new car prices.\u00a0\u00a0As Rothermel points out, &#8220;The bottom line for automotive recycling is to achieve optimum ecological benefits at an acceptable cost.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Car recycling is indeed an intricate balancing act and, as BMW notes, &#8220;neither the motorist nor industry nor the government will be able to achieve genuine environmental protection for nothing.&#8221;\u00a0\u00a0All parties will have to compromise on some points.\u00a0&#8220;There&#8217;s no free lunch,&#8221; Sussman says.\u00a0&#8220;There are trade-offs all over.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">All parties agree that solutions to the current recycling problems will only be reached through cooperative work between all the groups involved.\u00a0\u00a0As one auto executive sums up, &#8220;It&#8217;s not easy being in the car business these days,&#8221; adding more succinctly, &#8220;It&#8217;s not easy being green.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Car Recycling Picks Up Speed<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Improving the recyclability of cars is a global challenge\u2014and goal\u2014for the auto industry, and every automobile manufacturer has some recycling-related projects in the works or on the drawing board.\u00a0&#8220;The car of the future will not be measured alone by its motoring comfort, safety, economy, and ease of service,&#8221; BMW notes.\u00a0&#8220;Rather, designers are now also required to build cars that can be recycled as completely and economically as possible.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Here&#8217;s what some automakers are doing on car recycling.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Volkswagen AG (Wolfsburg, Germany), which opened a car recycling plant in Leer, Germany, in January 1990, uses no lead or heavy metals in its car paints, uses no asbestos in its brake pads and clutch linings, plans to use non-chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) coolant in its air-conditioners by 1993, and is designing its new cars for greater recyclability.\u00a0&#8220;All thermoplastics that are used by Volkswagen are recyclable,&#8221; the firm says.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Peugeot has incorporated Design for Recycling[R] concepts into the latest models of its Citroen ZX and Peugeot 106.\u00a0\u00a0It has pledged to increase the recycling of automotive plastic parts by increasing its use of resins that can be easily recycled, using one type of plastic for major components such as dashboards, limiting the variety of plastics used, marking all plastic parts so they can be identified and recovered, and designing parts for easy disassembly.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Renault has set up an experimental car recycling operation at its\u00a0Flins,\u00a0France, plant.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Mazda Motor Corp. and its German subsidiary have launched a project to collect used or damaged plastic parts\u2014mainly bumpers\u2014and recycle them into new bumpers and splash shields.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Honda Motor Co. Ltd. has vowed to mark its plastic parts by resin type, design its new cars for disassembly, recycle materials from older-model cars, and develop materials that won&#8217;t emit toxins when incinerated.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">General Motors&#8217;s new Saturn models feature recyclable plastic body panels.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Chrysler&#8217;s prototype of the Dodge Neon has recyclable plastic interior and exterior panels.\u00a0The firm&#8217;s new Grand Cherokee is reportedly 90-percent recyclable and features no cadmium in its fasteners, no asbestos in its brakes, and no CFCs in its air-conditioning systems.\u00a0Chrysler&#8217;s overall environmental principles center on promoting the efficient use of energy, conserving resources and preventing pollution through recycling, and continuously improving its cars to reduce their environmental impact.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Ford has commissioned design projects at two\u00a0U.S.\u00a0universities and established a pilot disassembly plant in\u00a0Niehl,\u00a0Germany.\u00a0This plant will help Ford develop design guidelines in such areas as material selection and compatibility, attachment methods, material coding, and design for disassembly.\u00a0The firm&#8217;s environmental policy focuses on conducting environmental performance audits of its plants, promoting waste minimization.\u00a0<em>\u2014K.K.<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"c2Left\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<div class=\"innertube\">\n<div class=\"LCcoverBox\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Carmakers around the world are working with scrap recyclers and other groups to solve current car recycling problems and prevent future ones. September\/October 1992 Carmakers around the world are working with scrap recyclers and other groups to solve current car recycling problems and prevent future ones. BY\u00a0KENT\u00a0KISER Kent Kiser is associate editor of\u00a0Scrap Processing and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19805,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[494],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tarhabpolymer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tarhabpolymer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tarhabpolymer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tarhabpolymer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tarhabpolymer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19804"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/tarhabpolymer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21119,"href":"https:\/\/tarhabpolymer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19804\/revisions\/21119"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tarhabpolymer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tarhabpolymer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tarhabpolymer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tarhabpolymer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}