BIR News

Automotive Recycling Law Sparks Controversy

Let us hope that where Europe leads, the rest of the world does not follow.

Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) members who are involved in automotive recycling in Europe are witnessing the enactment of an unnecessary and unwanted law.

Prospects for a reasonable legislative solution to perceived problems look grim as some recycling industry operators face being squeezed out of the present marketplace, being denied feedstock and being denied funding.

The Europeans are pursuing a new heavy-handed legislative solution to reduce the hazard and volume of end-of-life vehicle (ELV) shredder waste for final disposal. These efforts appear to damage the very industry that provides the automated solution to material separation from ELVs.

Cynics suggest that it is a hidden attempt to provide 100,000 jobs, with Europe’s future industry not being the manufacture of cars but their importation, use and hand dismantling. Despite current economics, the future European car buyer will be funding car dismantling, though it may be called producer responsibility. Producer responsibility is a concept growing worldwide, as are the implications of this legislation. The world’s automobile manufacturers will have changes in their material choice forced upon them by this law if they want to participate in the European marketplace. As globalization of new car parts procurement and car manufacturing proceeds, more change could well be felt worldwide.

Currently 222 European shredders produce over 8 million tons of ready to melt shredder steel scrap per year from 14 million ELVs (worldwide 700 shredders produce 25 million tons).

While there are many low cost dismantling operations, there are few, high-investment shredding and media separation plants.

75% of an ELV by weight is currently recycled efficiently, economically and with environmental consideration by the combined efforts of shredder and media separation operations.

This directive is not the first of its kind; the infamous packaging waste directive preceded it, and it will not be the last. The directives for waste from end of life electrical and electronic equipment and waste from demolition are coming along in a similar way.

Muddled and irresponsible European legislation could soon change the face of the traditional European recycling industry, with unknown affects on the political decision making in the U.S. and Japan, together with a cascade of changes in material procurement.

The author is the environmental and technical director at the Bureau of International Recycling, Brussels, Belgium.