Brussels, 22 March 2004

New provisions on recycling for motor vehicles from 2008

The Commission has just adopted new provisions laying down minimum levels for the recycling and
recovery of the components and materials in new vehicles. The purpose of these measures is to
facilitate the reuse, recycling and recovery of components with a view to achieving the objectives
set for 2015 with regard to recycling and recovery for end-of-life vehicles. They will apply to all new
vehicles placed on the market three years after the adoption of this new Directive, which means
they are expected to come into effect in 2008.
The motor industry is one of the key industries with an important role to play with regard to the
competitiveness of the European economy and sustainable development in the field of transport. It represents
34% of world output of motor vehicles. According to the Member of the Commission with responsibility for
enterprise policy Erkki Liikanen, this "is an important step in the recycling of the parts and materials used in the
construction of motor vehicles. I am particularly pleased with this measure, which should allow us, with the help
of the motor industry, to achieve the ambitious objectives set for 2015 and do a little more to protect the
environment. It is in fact essential for the manufacturers to incorporate recycling right from the development
stage in producing new vehicles, and the industry will thereby demonstrate its commitment to producing safer,
more environment-friendly vehicles, even if this results in increased production costs. Finally, this will improve
the operation of the single market, since these measures will come into force at the same time for all new
vehicles put on the road in the European Union."
In 2002 just under 16 million new cars and vans came onto the European market. On the other hand there are
between nine and ten million vehicles each year that reach the end of their life on average 13 to 14 years after
they were first placed on the market thus generating between eight and nine million tonnes of 'waste'. It was to
rectify this situation that on 18 September 2000 the European Parliament and the Council adopted Directive
2000/53/EC on end-of life vehicles.
This Directive sets targets for the reuse, recycling and recovery of the parts and materials in end-of-life
vehicles. In future, only a very small portion of these materials must find its way to landfills. On the contrary,
most of the parts and materials must be reused, recycled or recovered. The minimum percentages to be
reached from 2006 onwards are 80% for reuse and recycling and 85% for reuse and recovery. These minimum
levels are intended to be raised in 2015, when they will be set at 85% and 95% respectively; these targets will
be re-examined by the European Parliament and the Council before they are put into effect.
Obviously, targets like this cannot be achieved without a major contribution from the motor industry, which will
thus be required to incorporate a greater proportion of recyclable materials into vehicles and to conceive of
vehicles right from the design stage in terms of recycling and dismantling, so as to facilitate the reuse and
recycling of components.
While responsibility for developing efficient recycling methods lies first and foremost with the recycling industry,
the fact remains that conceiving of vehicles in terms of recycling right from the drawingboard is indisputably the
most effective way of making it easier to handle them at the end of their life.
The measures will apply to cars and vans, whether new models or models currently in production, that are
placed onto the market three years after the new Directive is adopted. This means that they should take effect
from 2008 onwards. They will not apply, however, to vehicles with small production runs (less than 500 vehicles
per year in each Member State) in view of the considerable investment that these SMEs would be required to
undertake in order to modify their production.
It is estimated that at present a car weighing 1 000 kg contains between 700 and 750 kg of metal. This means
some 150 to 200kg of non-metallic materials including about 95kg of plastics that will have to be recycled from
January 2006 onwards, and more from 2015 in view of the increasing part that lightweight materials are bound
to play in vehicle construction.
The general provisions of this new Directive fit into the Community type-approval procedure laid down under
Council Directive 70/156/EEC. Conformity with the technical provisions will be certified by the competent
authorities on the basis of forms for calculating recyclability and recoverability rates developed by the
International Organisation for Standardisation in Geneva(1).
Further information can be obtained from the following Commission websites:

 Coal Comes Clean | Main | The State of Renewable Energy

March 15, 2005
On the Road to Recyclability, Auto Industry Steps on It

By Katrina C. Arabe
When it comes to increasing fuel economy and reducing emissions, carmakers have managed a
rapid pace. Now, their efforts to reduce waste are picking up speed:
Over the years, the automotive sector has responded to increasingly demanding government
regulations and made significant strides in improving fuel economy and emissions. Now,
they're stepping up efforts to design vehicles for recycling, says a recent IndustryWeek article.
"When specifying materials, product development staffs must now equally embrace design for
disassembly and recycling as well as design for manufacturing," writes article author, John
Teresko.
While the industry is already recycling the metallic part of vehicles (which accounts for 75% of
total content) through profitable operations, global policy makers are eyeing more ambitious
targets. In particular, the European Union and Japan are issuing directives for bolstering
recyclability to above 75%. For instance, the European Union is calling for 85% recyclability by
the end of the year and 95% recyclability by 2015.
Typically, at the end of its life, 25% of a vehicle is left after its parts are recaptured for reuse
or remanufacture. This is then separated into ferrous and non-ferrous metals by a shredder in
the dismantling facility. What remains is non-metallic shredder residue, a growing component
of which is plastic, says Jim Kolb, director of the American Plastic Council's (APC) Automotive
Learning Center in Michigan. In fact, Kolb estimates that there are about 25 lbs. of plastics in
every 100 lbs. of shredder residue. And APC expects plastic use to rise, from 4.19 billion lbs. in
automobiles and light trucks in 2001 to about 5.63 billion lbs. in 2011, as vehicle designers
increasingly specify plastics to lower weight and thereby reduce fuel consumption and
emissions.
While the use of plastics brings many benefits (including weight reduction, increased torsional
stiffness and cost advantages), it also complicates recycling. First of all, not all plastics are
recyclable, and second, automakers have yet to develop a robust recycling infrastructure, as
they have for metals. As IndustryWeek puts it, "the loop to bring all plastics back into autos
again and again is not complete." Automakers, notably Detroit's Big Three, are working on it,
examining weighty issues such as feasibility, business infrastructure development, and the
environmental implications of recycling. Additionally, Japanese OEM Toyota Motor Corp. and a

supplier, Denso Corp., are looking into new composite recycling technology from Delawarebased Du Pont and Co. for the automaker's radiator end tanks. So far the results have been
promising. The closed-loop process was able to recover resin from old parts made of glass- or
mineral-filled Nylon 6 or 66. In fact, Du Pont reports that the reprocessed polymer matches the
performance of virgin material in terms of mechanical properties, resistance to harsh liquid
coolants, and molding characteristics.
"This technology is very important in helping us achieve our recycled vision," Toyota's Yasushi
Miyamoto, general manager, organic material department, material engineering division, tells
IndustryWeek. "Our vision includes improving the vehicle recovery rate to 95% and developing
new technologies that increase to 20% the use of plastic from recycled materials or renewable
resources by 2015."
In addition to recycling plastics, automakers are also exploring another avenue--increasing the
use of biomaterials, which can be recycled or composted at the end of a vehicle's life.
According to Paul C. Killgoar Jr., director, environment, physical science and safety of Ford's
Research and Advanced Engineering in Michigan, Ford and the rest of the industry are seeking
ways to utilize natural-based materials instead of fossil carbon-based ones. In fact, says
Killgoar, Ford Motor Co. is already using biomaterials in its manufacturing processes to lower
tooling and operating costs. "One example is Canola--an oil derived from rape seed--that is
formulated as a soluble oil for metalworking applications," he tells IndustryWeek. "Both
environmentally and user friendly, Canola is low foaming and low misting and can be easily
formulated for applications." Canola is also being considered for use in hydraulic oils and lubes,
he says.
However, the use of biomaterials still poses economic and technical challenges, including the
tendency of some materials to break down when exposed to water. In addition, soy-based
foams have an unmistakable aroma. "When you get in your car, it smells like peanut butter. We
can't have that!" remarks Killgoar. Indeed, the automotive sector still has many roadblocks to
overcome before it can reach its green dream, but the industry is already well on its way.
Source:
Green Machines
John Teresko
IndustryWeek, February 1, 2005
www.industryweek.com/currentArticles/asp/articles.asp?ArticleId=1739

Green Machines
With worldwide automobile sales expected to more than double in the next 50 years, the drive for waste
reduction is accelerating. When specifying materials, product development staffs must now equally embrace
design for disassembly and recycling as well as design for manufacturing.
By John Teresko

Concerns about energy use and waste generation are nothing new to the automotive sector. They have been
bottom-line issues since the industry's beginnings, and Henry Ford in his 1926 book, "Today and Tomorrow"
offered his guiding philosophy: "Industry owes it to society to conserve material in every possible way. Not
only for the element of cost in the manufactured article, although this is important, but mostly for the
conservation of those materials whose production and transportation are laying an increasing burden on
society."
By the second half of the 20th century, the producers' concerns were joined by growing government
regulations, and a variety of groups began offering studies dramatizing the finite nature of resources such as
energy. It was only natural that governmental policies would initially emphasize improvements in fuel
economy and emissions, and the achievements of OEMs in this area are substantial.
Now, global policy makers are shifting towards mandating greater recyclability goals. The good news about
recycling is that the metallic content, about 75% of a vehicle, is already recycled via existing infrastructures
that perform as profitable business models. The challenge comes from directives from both the European
Union and Japan for increasing recyclability above 75%. For example, the European Union's requirement is
for 85% recyclability by the end of 2005 and 95% by 2015.
The Plastics Challenge
In a typical vehicle end-of-life context today, 25% remains after parts are recovered for reuse or
remanufacture. The dismantling facility then sends this to a shredder for separation into ferrous and nonferrous metals for recycling.
What's left is non-metallic shredder residue with a growing presence of plastics, says Jim Kolb, director of
the American Plastic Council's Automotive Learning Center, Troy, Mich. Kolb estimates that every 100
pounds of shredder residue contains roughly 25 pounds of plastics -- such things as polyurethane foams and
polymers along with a fines fraction of metals, metal oxides, glass and dirt.
Kolb's American Plastics Council (APC), reports that 4.19 billion pounds of plastics were used in automobiles
and light trucks in 2001. By 2011 APC expects usage to reach about 5.63 billion pounds as vehicle designers
choose lighter-weight plastics over heavier materials in order to reduce weight, therefore fuel consumption,
and therefore emissions. Citing figures from American Metal Market, APC says usage per vehicle (both cars
and light trucks) has grown from 168 pounds in 1977 to 248.5 pounds in 2000. During that time average
vehicle weight fell from 3,665 pounds to 3,286 pounds.
The weight-reduction advantage is not the only force driving increased use of plastics in vehicles. OEMs are
discovering other performance advantages of hybrid plastic/metal structures that are not available in an allmetal configuration. For example, hybrid front end modules are replacing structures once made of heavy
steel stampings and gaining more than 10 times the torsional stiffness according to a study by Bayer Corp.,
Pittsburgh. In addition, cost benefits accrue from the ability to integrate parts via the molding process. Bayer
says plastic/metal front-end structures are rapidly being adopted by OEMs.
But two complications of the increased use of plastics is that not all plastics are recyclable, and a mature
recycling infrastructure doesn't exist, as it does for metals.
Partnering For A Solution
Indeed while some cars on roads today contain some recycled plastics, the loop to bring all plastics back into
autos again and again is not complete. At General Motors Corp., the concerted effort to consider the use of
recycled plastics began in the 1980s, recalls Terry Cullum, director, corporate responsibility and environment
and energy, Detroit. In product engineering at the time, Cullum remembers the motivator as being the

growing use of plastics to lighten vehicles. The initial challenge was to evaluate the availability of adequate
material streams. Initially the company tapped into recycled pop bottles for such things as headliner
materials. The high scrap rate for compact disks formed the next supply opportunity for a very high-value
polycarbonate material.
"In the early 1990s we joined the Vehicle Recycling Partnership along with Ford and Chrysler to see how the
vehicle recycling infrastructure could be optimized. Although metals have a robust economic infrastructure,
our challenge is to achieve equivalent results with plastics and fabrics. The goal for a more robust
infrastructure for organic materials -- plastics and fabrics -- is part of our research agreement [a five-year
agreement signed in 2003] with Argonne National Laboratories and the American Plastics Council."
Recycling plastics raises challenges of feasibility, business infrastructure development and whether the
environmental footprint is indeed smaller than the virgin material that is replaced. For example, those factors
were involved when a Japanese OEM and a supplier (Toyota Motor Corp. and Denso Corp.) evaluated new
technology for recycling Nylon composites from Du Pont and Co., Wilmington, Del.
Du Pont's composite recycling technology is a closed-loop process that is designed to convert parts made of
glass- or mineral-filled Nylon 6 or 66 into resin that is essentially equivalent to virgin material.
A variety of parts were evaluated at Du Pont's new Canadian prototype plant at Mississuaga. The feedstock
for the development program with Denso consisted of 500 radiator end tanks collected from scrapped endof-life vehicles in Japan. All of the tanks were made of glass-reinforced Nylon 66. The tanks were dirty and
somewhat degraded by age.
Reprocessing began after the tanks were reduced to finely ground particles that were subsequently
dissolved at elevated temperatures in a pressurized reactor. Glass fibers and other insoluble ingredients
were filtered out, and the next step was to precipitate the dissolved Nylon from the solution. During drying,
the precipitated material was heated, inducing solid-phase polymerization to restore the polymer's molecular
weight to the same level as that of the virgin Nylon.
The recovered polymer was compounded with glass fibers and compared to the performance of virgin
material. Du Pont reports no difference in terms of mechanical properties, resistance to aggressive liquid
coolants or molding characteristics. Performance was also similar in terms of high-temperature creep, highpressure cycling, vibration and low temperature impact.
The studies show that the technology can provide a workable, cradle-to-cradle solution for radiator end
tanks, says Du Pont's Bill Hsu, vice president, global technology for engineering polymers. In addition to
potentially reducing the amount of materials going into landfills, Hsu says the technology has a smaller
environmental footprint and a higher financial return than alternatives that included incineration with energy
recovery.
Both Toyota and Denso favorably reviewed test results. Toyota's evaluation involved two identical air intake
manifolds -- one made from compounded virgin Nylon 6 -- the other from compounded resin containing
100% recycled Nylon 6. Results of end-use testing for leaks, burst and breaking strength revealed that parts
made of recycled content are within specification.
"The technology is very important in helping us achieve our Recycled Vision," says Toyota's Yasushi
Miyamoto, general manager, Organic Material Department, Material Engineering Division. "Our vision
includes improving the vehicle recovery rate to 95% and developing new technologies that increase to 20%
the use of plastic from recycled materials or renewable resources by 2015. We plan to continue to develop
this new technology so it can be applied economically in our vehicle recycling initiatives." (See "Toyota's
Vision")

Toyota's Vision
Raum demonstrates company's commitment.
By John Teresko

To the casual observer of the North American market, hybrids would seem to be Toyota's most visible
environmental play. (The lineup now includes the second generation Prius, the new Toyota Highlander
Hybrid SUV and its Lexus RX 400h luxury SUV.)
But in addition to initiating the hybrid revolution, the company may be launching a bigger one. The evidence:
the Raum, a second-generation vehicle marketed only in Japan that may be even more disruptive to
conventional thinking. (At the very least, Toyota admits the second-generation Raum hints at the company's
future product direction.)
The all-new vehicle presents a unique combination of attributes under the umbrella theme of Universal
Design. Toyota says the concept starts by focusing on making a product that is easy to use for just about
anybody. For example, the company has customers repeatedly evaluating the product throughout the design
process. Those interations target such things as ingress and egress, interior space, driving ease and
passenger comfort.
New environmental standards are also part of the Universal Design theme. In addition to providing reduced
emissions and improved fuel efficiency, the Raum features environmentally considerate materials such as
plant-based materials (Toyota's Eco-Plastic) and employs design concepts that make dismantling easier for
enhanced recyclability.
Toyota says Universal Design has resulted in a design that is both gentle on people and the earth and is fun
drive.