encountered in automobile design is that,
as weight reduction is achieved, the use
of nonmetallic components increases.
These materials comprise most of the
25 % of the car that is difficult, or
currently not possible, to recycle.
Plastics are particularly difficult because
of the many different types that are used
and, generally speaking, the lack of
compatibility between them.
In its first year of publishing a
recycling rate for steel in old cars, the
American Iron and Steel Institute
announced a 94% rate for 1993. This
was calculated by comparing the steel
used to produce new cars in 1993 to the
amount of steel scrap collected from auto
shredders and dismantlers.
General Motors (GM) has been using
recyclable plastic for body panels on its
Saturn automobile. Defective panels at
the plants can be ground for immediate
recycling into other molding parts. Used
body panels can be recovered and
recycled when Saturns are scrapped.
Chrysler Corp. has developed an award-
winning prototype car, the Neon, which
contains recyclable interior and exterior
panels, wheels made from previously
recycled aluminum, and is painted with
water-based paint.  In an attempt to
maximize  recycling  potential, two
Chrysler vehicle lines were introduced in
1992 that were designed for 90 %
recyclability. Du Pont supplies the glass-
reinforced, PET-based plastic for the
fenders on these cars. This material can
be reground, remolded, and reformed. A
methanolysis process, also developed by
Du Pont, can be used to return the
material to its original feedstock
components, which can be used again on
various applications, including new
fenders.
Although the phrases 'design for
recycling" and 'design for disassembly'
go hand in hand, they are different.
Design for recycling aims not only at
ease of disassembly but also minimum
disassembly so that subassemblies may be
removed and recycled without further
separation. Several European automakers
have taken an early lead in establishing
programs in these areas.  In 1991,
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (Bavarian


Motor Works, BMW) and Volkswagen-
werk AG (Volkswagen, VW) started pilot
disassembly plants to recover metals,
plastics, glass, and other materials from
old cars, and BMW announced plans to
build a commercial plant. The German
Automobile Club (ADAC) has a research
dismantling facility at which its goal is
the design of a 100% recyclable
automobile.  The French automaker
Peugeot SA (Peugeot) has entered a joint
venture with a leading French scrap
metals  processor  and  a  cement
manufacturer to maximize recycling and
to convert nonrecyclable components into
fuel for the cement plants. The company
planned to recycle more than 7,000
Peugeot and Citroen cars by 1994. In the
United Kingdom, the Rover Group has
joined with the Bird Group, a leading
scrap processor in Europe. The company
plans to develop rapid dismantling
techniques and set up standards and
procedures.  In Japan, similar efforts
began with Toyota's collection of used
plastic bumpers. The bumpers were sold
to recyclers and manufactured into
products such as pallets. This program
was started with 26 dealers in Tokyo and
was expanded to all dealers in the Tokyo
area.
The U.S. big three automakers formed
a consortium in 1992 to research and
promote the maximum recovery and reuse
of materials from junked cars.  The
Vehicle Recycling Partnership also is
expected to develop industry guidelines
for new vehicle manufacturing in such
areas  as  materials  selection  and
compatibility and optimum materials and
techniques for joining, coating, etc.
The Automotive Group of the Durables
Committee of the Society of the Plastics
Industry has established a pilot study to
develop economical and environmentally
sound methods of recovering and
recycling post-consumer automotive.
plastics and an industry infrastructure to
support such processes. The use of as
many as 40 different types of hard-to-
identify plastics in automotive
applications, such as fan shrouds, fender
liners, radiator end caps, windshield
washer bottles, interior trim pieces, and
grill panels, has made auto plastic


recycling difficult. GM and Ford Motor
Co. now require labels that identify the
type of resin in each plastic part. Auto
dismantlers, an auto shredder, a
nonferrous metals separator, plastics
recovery and reclamation facilities, and
industry laboratories will participate in
the project. The difficulties encountered
and information gathered during this
project will be used to advise
manufacturers in their design for
recycling efforts in future cars.
BMW will be cooperating in a pilot
automobile recycling program with three
recycling companies in California,
Florida, and New York that are members
of the Automotive Dismantlers and
Recyclers Association (ADRA). They
were chosen by meeting criteria that
included outstanding adherence to the
ADRA Code of Ethics and use of the
ADRA Hazardous Waste Management
Booklet as the basis for environmentally
sound practices. Fluids will be drained
and recycled and batteries will be
removed and properly disposed of. If the
car has air bags, they will be deployed
per BMW specifications to eliminate the
risk of sodium azide contamination. All
economically salvagable components will
be removed before the metal shell is
shipped to an auto shredder. BMW will
use a monetary incentive to encourage the
return of old BMW cars for the project.
During 1993, Ford began a pilot
project for the recycling of obsolete
plastic bumpers. The material from the
bumpers was used to make taillight
housings for the 1993 Taurus models
leased to a California company. This is
the first case in North America where an
automaker is using recycled plastics from
its junked vehicles to make parts for new
ones.n
Another opportunity for recycling
involves used oil filters. More than 400
million used auto oil filters are available
for recycling in the United States
annually, but most of them are landfilled.
Research conducted by USBM has shown
that crushed and drained filters have a
higher (better) bulk density than many
standard grades of steel scrap.  The
analysis of the material is very low in all
residual elements except tin from tinplate


MATERIALS RECYCLING-1993








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