In March, the International Automobile Recycling Congress (IARC) 2016 in Berlin, Germany, came to an end. More than 220 representatives of the global automotive recycling sector had come together to discuss current political conditions and the latest trends in recycling technology.
The IARC 2016 congress team had prepared almost 30 presentations and a panel discussion for the participants. In addition, the congress was accompanied by an exhibitors’ forum comprising 24 companies.
The talks and discussions at the IARC showed that even 15 years after the enactment of the EU end-of-life vehicle directive, there is no danger of running out of topical issues to discuss. As the increasing application of composite materials and carbon fiber-reinforced plastics as well as the broader use of lithium-ion batteries are factors confronting end-of-life vehicle recyclers, an array of new challenges will need to be met during the next few years.
The keynote speech held by Dr. Kay Oppat, chief operating officer of the Scholz Group, called for the formation of a think tank consisting of representatives from automotive manufacturers, suppliers and recycling companies. The underlying idea is to find a common approach to increase the availability of end-of-life vehicles. Professor Julian Allwood from the University of Cambridge is convinced that the recycling of end-of-life vehicles offers great potential for innovation and in his keynote speech he encouraged those members of the recycling industry attending the IARC to demand support in achieving this aim.
The main focus of further speeches dealt with finding and developing suitable measures and treatments which enable set recycling, reuse and recovery targets to be met. In addition, a separate block of presentations addressed the topics waste-to-energy and gasification processes.
Wei Sun from Volkswagen (China) Investment Co. provided listeners with an insight into the development of end-of-life vehicle recycling regulations in China. Captain N S Mohan Ram of the Indian company TVS Motor Company Limited provided information on end-of-life vehicle recycling in India, and Cagri Akin from the Turkish company Remer/ÖTASAD reported on the car recycling sector in Turkey. Arturo Rufino of the company JR Diesel and Bruno Garfinkel of insurance company Porto Seguro gave an insight in ELV recycling developments in Brazil.
The common thread running through all presentations, however, was the aim to improve recycling of end-of-life vehicles through greater efforts to achieve a circular economy.
Published in the May 2016 Edition of American Recycler News
