Automotive Recycling and Material Reuse

The environmental impact of the automotive industry is a focal point that has transformed its processes and policies. Amidst the journey to improved efficiency and profitability, the recyclability of materials within and without the manufacturing processes has created and refined the functions of sustainable recycling as an auxiliary industry.

Relying on multiple qualitative and quantitative methodologies, automakers from around the world are increasingly relying on the complete recycling of industrial and non-industrial waste for use in commercial cars and trucks. Today, the recycling of waste, products, and raw materials for use in cars drives a circular economy. Not to be limited by the availability of these resources, the world’s largest auto manufacturers are turning to using non-commercial and non-industrial products as well.

The modern automobile is a complex mechanical organism, filled with several composite materials that are available as byproducts of various industries. An example of such a revolutionary recycling effort is General Motors’ reuse of polypropylene booms that were used to soak up oil from the oil spill from the Gulf of Mexico as wind deflectors on the new electric Chevrolet Volt. This prevented a recycling loss of more than 96,000 kilograms of booms, tires, and packaging material from GM’s own facilities, representing 75 percent of the materials used. Another 25 percent of the recyclable material was sourced from consumer plastics. Materials such as test tires and water bottles are also recycled for use as air-directing and water-directing baffles in the Chevrolet Equinox. Similarly, cardboard is made into dampening foam for the Buick Verano. Metal scrap of various types is also melted down and reintroduced into the manufacturing process. The increasing efficiency and zero-waste potential of these processes have resulted in as few as seven bottles worth of plastic from disposable water bottles being recycled into sound insulation panels.

Across continents, Toyota specializes in the recycling of parts from vehicles that have reached the end of their operational life. Old components and scrap received from shredding are classified as ferrous, non-ferrous and shredder residue, each being used in separate parts of the manufacturing process. The world’s largest automaker reuses and refabricates a perse range of materials including rubber, steel, glass, plastic, oils, aluminum, lead, and even foam from its vehicles. Nissan is reported to recycle old aluminum tire rims into the crucial knuckle arm for its 11th-generation executive compact, the Skyline. Back in the United States, Ford uses industrial yarns, lead from batteries, consumer plastics, and even bio-plastics into doors, leading the company’s effort to make 85 percent of its cars recyclable.

The advent of large-scale recycling in the automotive industry signals a move towards environmental responsibility and sustainable recycling practices, with profitability and a smaller carbon footprint being at the core of the industry’s long-term goals.