More Automobile

Information

The United States Council for

Automotive Research

 is the umbrella

organization of Daimler

Chrysler, Ford, and General

Motors. Formed in 1992, its

mission is to strengthen the

technology base of the

domestic auto industry through

cooperative research.

The Automotive Recyclers

Association is

an international trade

association that represents the

auto recycling industry. It is a

source of information on the

removal and reuse of

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Just the Facts

Recycling Automotive Parts

Lifecycle Assessment

Case Studies

The vehicle that you are driving today will be a source of numerous recyclable

materials tomorrow. Vehicle parts offer recycling opportunities for materials

such as steel, aluminum, plastics, antifreeze, and batteries, as well as whole

parts such as tires, seats, engines, and alternators.

Just the Facts

Each year, nearly all of the 27 million cars around the world that reach the end of their useful life are

recovered for recycling.

Automotive recyclers now can recover nearly 80 percent of the total materials by weight from a vehicle,

according to the United States Council on Automotive Research (USCAR) an organization

of auto manufacturers that work together on shared technological and environmental concerns.

The remaining 20 percent of vehicle materials that cannot be recycled is called auto shredder residue

(ASR). ASR includes plastics, rubber, wood, paper, fabric, glass, sand, dirt, and ferrous and nonferrous

metal pieces.

Five million tons of ASR are disposed of in landfills each year.

Consumers purchasing used or reconditioned parts save 50 percent or more compared to the cost of

purchasing new parts.

More than 25 million tons of materials are recycled from vehicles each year. Automotive recycling is

generally calculated separately from the MSW recycling rate.

Nearly 90 percent of automotive aluminum is recovered and recycled. Although this aluminum

represents less than 10 percent of the average motor vehicle by weight, it accounts for roughly half of

the vehicle's value as scrap.

Auto recyclers supply more than one-third of all ferrous scrap (iron and steel) to the U.S. scrap

processing industry. When manufacturers use scrap iron and steel instead of virgin ore, they reduce air

and water pollution by more than half during the manufacturing process.

Recycling Automotive Parts

Cars are recycled in four steps: dismantling, crushing, shredding, and resource

recovery. In the dismantling stage, processors recover the fluids and take apart

the usable parts and components. These include batteries, wheels and tires,

steering columns, fenders, radios, engines, starters, transmissions, alternators,

select plastic parts and components, glass, foams, catalytic convertors, and other

components, based on aftermarket demand. The processor then crushes the

vehicle and loads it onto the vehicle shredder. The shredder grinds the vehicle

into fist-sized pieces, which are then separated into ferrous and non-ferrous

(aluminum) metals, as well as ASR. After separation, the recovered metals are

remelted at the mills, and the ASR is landfilled.

Lifecycle Assessment

Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) might be a valuable tool for striking a balance

between recycling and other environmental priorities in automotive parts

design. Researchers worldwide now are actively developing LCA and considering

Wastes - Resource Conservation - Common Wastes &

Materials

Last updated on Tuesday, February 02, 2010

http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/materials/auto.htm

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automotive parts and disposal

of inoperable motor vehicles.

The International Federation of

Automotive Engineering

Societies is an

international organization

representing automotive

engineers and automotive

societies.

The Steel Recycling Institute

(SRI) , a unit of

the American Iron and Steel

Institute, provides information

on recycling for all steel

products.

global standardization and regional differences.

Scientists are developing highly advanced technologies, which will allow more

effective recovery of the materials currently not reused from end-of-life

vehicles. Such advancements include infrared polymer identification; automated,

high-speed materials identification (for plastics, aluminum alloys etc); feedstock

recycling; and paint removal/treatment.

Case Studies

Vehicle Recycling Partnership, Automotive

Shredder Residue Recovery

The U.S. Department of Energy sponsored a

project with the Vehicle Recycling Partnership

(composed of Ford, General Motors, and DaimlerChrysler) and the American Plastics Council (APC) to develop

technology to recover recyclable materials from ASR. The partners successfully

constructed a pilot bulk separation system that yields a plastics concentrate (about 45 percent by weight of

ASR), a polyurethane foam fraction (about 10 percent by weight of ASR) and an oxides fraction (about 45

percent by weight of ASR). The partnership continues to investigate effective ways to recycle each fraction of

the ASR.

Fauquier County, Virginia

In Fauquier County, Virginia, county officials pick up abandoned and junk vehicles for free. This program is

designed to encourage citizens to remove unwanted vehicles from their property. The vehicles are recycled free

of charge.

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