Down to the last detail

Beyond changing design preferences and technological expectations, cars manufactured a decade from now will be dramatically different than vehicles produced 10 years prior.

Kim Holmes, senior director of recycling and diversion for Washington-based SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association, says lightweigthing will continue to play a role in the evolution of automobiles.

The weight decreases will come in part from replacing metal parts with lighter counterparts made of plastic.

Holmes explains, “We’re going to see more and more product manufacturers of packaging for automobiles increasingly looking at opportunities to replace parts because of the lower environmental footprint that plastic has over a number of metals but also the lighter weight aspect of it.”

She adds, “You’re beginning to see increasing commitments from all industry sectors that use plastics to begin to use some recycled content. You’re going to see a growing demand for this material, which is fantastic,” she says of postconsumer recycled plastic (PCR).

Holmes points to growing demand for PCR from the electronics sector specifically. The apparel industry also has shown interest, with more manufacturers using recycled fiber, such as the new Nike soccer uniforms worn by the U.S. Women’s National Team during the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which averaged a total of 18 recycled plastic bottles per uniform.

Earlier this year, Ford Motor Co., Dearborn, Michigan, became the first automaker to incorporate Repreve fiber, which is made from recycled plastics, into its new F-150 pickup trucks. (Repreve fiber is made by Unifi, Greensboro, North Carolina.) By including Repreve fiber in its best-selling F-150 and in five other vehicle models, Ford says it will divert more than 5 million plastic bottles from landfills.

While plastics make up about 10 percent of an automobile’s weight today, by 2020 they are projected to comprise 18 percent of a car’s weight, says Michael Taylor, SPI director of international affairs and trade. “Those plastics will be replacing other parts,” Taylor says.
 

Standard expectation

As demand for recycled plastics grows, having a common vernacular among buyers and sellers of this material is critical.

Standard specifications for scrap commodities allow for growth in the recycling industry, says Jonathan Levy, director of member services and Plastics Division liaison at the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington.

ISRI has been updating its plastic scrap specifications, with its most recent update for nine plastic film grades published in the association’s “Scrap Specifications Circular” in February 2015.

The “Scrap Specifications Circular” provides guidelines for buying and selling a variety of processed scrap commodities, including ferrous and nonferrous metals, paper, plastics, electronics, rubber and glass, according to ISRI.

Levy explains that the number of grades identified for certain specifications depends on market demand. He says, “For film, we couldn’t describe the variations under one specification; that reflects the market reality: There’s more value for a ‘premium grade film’ than a ‘c grade film’, and, because of that, you have to describe them separately.”

Automotive plastics present growth potential for recyclers, Levy says.

“ISRI is spot on that there is going to be increased opportunities in automotive plastics,” Holmes confirms.

At an ISRI meeting in Denver in July, the Plastics Division concentrated on plastic specifications for automotive parts, including bumpers and gas tanks, Levy says.

Holmes says SPI has been working with ISRI over the last several years to figure out an automotive plastics recovery pilot project, “looking at whole car recovery before it goes to ISRI members for shredding.” She envisions creating a guide for automotive recyclers that lists 15 or so plastic parts that can be removed from vehicles prior to shredding.

“Then the next logical step would get ISRI involved to write specifications on those,” Holmes states.

As with most scrap specifications ISRI introduces, the idea to consider specifications for automotive plastics came from ISRI members, Levy says.

He describes the plastics specifications development process in this manner: Ideas for new specifications for specific commodities are brought up during ISRI division meetings. Members discuss the relevancy of the material and the importance of creating a specification (“Nine times out of 10 if one member is dealing with that material, then other members are too,” Levy says.). A specifications committee is formed through a subcommittee of the Plastics Division (Committee members involved change as the commodity debated changes.). Decisions are made over several conference calls. Once specifications are written, they move from the subcommittee to the general ISRI membership for voting.

The association also hosts a public comment period. Thirty days before specifications are voted on and 30 days after ISRI members vote on them, the public is given the opportunity to respond. Levy says it is rare that the public voices any concerns, however, ISRI makes a point to include stakeholders and other non-ISRI members throughout the specification development process to make it a smoother experience.
 

Contamination control

“Specifications are going to follow the markets and wherever that demand leads,” Levy says.

The value in developing specifications for automotive plastics is that it allows new entrants to the market to participate by using common terms. “People who want to get involved, specifications help them to understand what they’re going to be trading,” Levy says. “Specifications lay out what exactly it is so that the buyer and seller know what they’re talking about: They know what the general description is and what the contamination level is, and they work within that scope.”

He clarifies that specifications are a guide for buyers and sellers to “come to common terms;” however, “if the buyer says this contamination level is too high and needs lowered, then that’s fine because that’s how the specifications are designed.”

Controlling contamination is a strong advantage of specifications, Levy says.

Holmes says specifications regarding contamination help to ensure materials are recycled in a responsible manner once they reach the end of their useful lives.
 

Common language

The reputable domestic buyers are there, says Maite Quinn, who is responsible for business development and marketing of plastics, paper and glass for Sims Municipal Recycling, a division of Sims Metal Management, with headquarters in New York and Sydney.

Quinn says she has watched the plastics market grow since she joined the recycling industry nearly 15 years ago. In 2001, Sims sold much of its plastics overseas. Today, 100 percent of the company’s material is marketed domestically, she says.

Specifications, she says, are useful in that they help to identify the differences in plastics, which have varying prices.

Quinn says, “There are big differences in values depending on resin, mix, etc., and specifications provide a common language between seller and buyer.”

Holmes says pricing is the biggest challenge facing the plastics recycling industry.

Despite this, Holmes says brand owners and processors are using PCR as a “market differentiator.”

She adds, “With recycled content, there’s a lower carbon footprint, and that’s becoming increasingly important in the U.S. market.”

The author is associate editor of Recycling Today and can be contacted by email at mworkman@gie.net.

Kim Holmes of SPI, Maite Quinn of Sims Municipal Recycling and Jonathan Levy of ISRI will speak at the 2015 Paper & Plastics Recycling Conference, Oct. 14-16, in Chicago.

To register, visit http://bit.ly/1KQG6kH.