by MAURA KELLER
As the automotive industry continues to grow and thrive, automotive manufacturers and recycling companies are turning their attention to enhancing the closed-loop recycling efforts of the U.S.
Closed-loop recycling is a process that has had a profound impact on the manufacturing sector of the automotive industry. The material is recycled to its original state without losing key properties – ultimately allowing the material to be used indefinitely. In terms of environmental sustainability, closed-loop recycling is superior to open-loop recycling because it helps reduce the natural resource consumption for producing virgin material for vehicles.
According to Rodney Krawczyk, president of the Automotive Recyclers Association of New Jersey, from the earliest days of motorized travel to today, professional automotive recycling has evolved into a sophisticated market and technology-driven industry that constantly changes to keep abreast of innovations in automotive technology and manufacturing techniques.
“The industry has grown exponentially over the past several decades,” Krawczyk said. “The industry is a vibrant and thriving part of the automotive supply chain. In the U.S., automotive recycling businesses employ over 140,000 people at more than 9,000 locations, representing over $32 billion in sales annually.”
So how does the U.S. automotive recycling industry compare to other countries, particularly those with a closed-loop infrastructure in place? What can we learn from other countries and what can they learn from us?
Krawczyk said the biggest difference in the U.S. is that we focus primarily on the purest form of recycling first and that is REUSE.
“In the U.S., approximately 11 percent reuse of recycled original equipment parts are used in insurance paid repairs compared to 1 to 2 percent in most other countries around the world,” Krawczyk said. The Automotive Recyclers Association of New Jersey does not have exact figures on the reuse of recycled original equipment parts outside of insurance paid claims. However, with the growth of the self service sector of the industry, the reuse usage appears to be quite healthy.
The international members of the Automotive Recyclers Association would favor higher reuse rather than seeing vehicles go directly to end of life disposition where all metals and materials are recovered in closed loop recycling.
“Many countries are forced into these positions by heavy government oversight and end of life directives where manufacturers are responsible cradle to grave for the vehicles they manufacture,” Krawczyk said.
Indeed, leading automotive manufacturers in Japan and the EU, including Toyota and Jaguar are embracing the circular economy and identifying ways to establish a closed-loop system that can reutilize a large portion of vehicle aluminum and other components. For instance, in 2014 Toyota announced that it had developed a system to extract and recycle copper from vehicle wiring harnesses without it being contaminated by impurities and successfully reintroducing it into the vehicle production process. Likewise, Jaguar Land Rover is working on streamlining its closed loop strategy to transform today’s vehicles into tomorrow’s cars.
Some of the driving forces behind Japan’s focus on a closed-loop automotive recycling program are the result of the country’s high population density and limited landfill space. In addition, although Japan is a major industrial producer, which includes automobiles, it has limited domestic metal and mineral resources, which makes closed-loop recycling very attractive.
In the U.S., Ford is following suit by embracing closed-loop initiatives in the manufacturing of the Ford F-150 trucks. In 2015, the company announced that it was partnering with Novelis and Alcoa to engineer a way to take the aluminum scrap remaining from making the F-150 and turn it into usable aluminum that would be used to build more F-150 trucks.
“We will need more cooperation with the manufacturers to think about building vehicles for recycling,” Krawczyk said. “Creating new materials that cannot easily be broken down into recyclables will not be productive and will create problems for all segments of the recycling industry.”
Krawczyk stressed that groups such as the Automotive Recyclers Association of New Jersey (ARANJ) will have to ramp up their educational programs to assure that members of the industry are up to date with all the new technology that is in vehicles now and in the future, particularly with the growing market share that electric vehicles will have in the future.
According to Tod Lyons, Interstate Batteries’ sustainability program manager, in the U.S., automotive batteries are the number one recycled consumer product with more than 99 percent of all automotive lead batteries being recycled to make new batteries. The lead, plastic and electrolyte from spent batteries can all be recycled in a closed loop program. This means that even a battery from your grandfather’s pick-up truck could be used to power your car today.
“Because lead-acid automotive batteries can be widely reused, Interstate Batteries has created a closed-loop cycle for producing, using and recycling car batteries in the U.S.,” Lyons said. Interstate’s business model centers on a closed-loop cycle to provide dealers with safe working environments and ensure their environmental impact is minimal. And, since 2016, Interstate has recycled more than 3 billion pounds of scrap lead batteries, making them one of the largest lead battery recyclers in the country.
However, many other countries, particularly China, are focused on trends toward EV batteries. While electric cars do not have the same carbon footprint on the environment as traditional combustion engine vehicles, EV batteries still negatively impact the environment.
“Raw materials for EV batteries are mined in countries like Bolivia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but with recycling efforts behind in terms of profitability – only about 5 to 7 percent of lithium batteries are recycled compared to 99 percent of lead acid batteries – there is an increased demand for raw materials mining,” Lyons said.
It is estimated that by 2030, there will be 140 million more electric vehicles produced, meaning that nearly 3 million more tons of copper, 1.3 million tons of nickel and 263,000 tons of cobalt will need to be mined in order to meet demand for new car batteries.
“While electric cars are on the rise, there is something to be said for the sustainability of traditional lead-acid batteries and their ability to continually power our vehicles,” Lyons said. “As EV batteries continue to increase in popularity around the world, the U.S. and other countries will have to find a cost effective approach to EV battery recycling in order to make real environmental change.”
Automotive recyclers as well as Automotive Recyclers Association and ARANJ are following closely advancements in vehicle technology. From materials like high strength steel to sophisticated ADAS systems, recyclers need to be able to safely and efficiently process the cars of the future.
So how can automotive recyclers stay abreast of the closed-loop recycling initiatives both with new scrap and end-of-life scrap? “Currently the industry is taking great strides to teach its employees on how to handle hybrid and electric batteries, which are appearing more and more in facilities across the country,” Krawczyk said. Certification is more important than ever before. In order to truly compete in the replacement parts sector, automotive recyclers as a whole must raise the bar. Industry recognized certification programs, such as the Automotive Recyclers Association’s CAR and Gold Seal programs, can help build consistency and standards within the industry.
“Automotive recyclers must be willing to change and adapt to the changes brought on by the auto manufacturers –while competing against the manufacturers for market share in the replacement parts market,” Krawczyk said. “Automotive recyclers are a dynamic group, always looking for new part types to recycle and diversifying their business models to changing consumer demands.”
Published in the October 2019 Edition
