New regulations from the UK's implementation of the European ELV Directive will call for car manufacturers to be financially responsible for their share of recycling 80% of ELVs by January 2006 and 85% by January 2015.
At the moment, the UK produces around 1.8 million tonnes of ELVs each year and is thought to be recycling around 72% already. However, while the majority of this tonnage is easily recyclable metals, the typical vehicle contains 12% plastics, with elastomeric tyres and door seals adding a further 6%.
There has been some concern in the motor industry about a shortage of markets for plastics from ELVs, and in April a two-year study backed by the British Plastics Federation and the Consortium for Automotive Recycling was launched looking into the problem (see letsrecycle.com story).
But Molo Revocare Ltd, a company in Leighton Buzzard, has already started processing car bumpers, and managing director Barry Haynes told letsrecycle.com that they cannot get enough bumpers.
Mr Haynes said: “We've sold 200 tonnes of plastics from bumpers over the last couple of months, and we've got continuous orders for more. We're dismantling around 20 to 30 vehicles a week ourselves, and we also get around 50 to 60 a week from local body shops. We have the capacity to do a lot more, but there are so many bad vibes around at the moment, people saying it can't be done, we just can't get enough bumpers.”
Shredding
Molo Revocare has two Untec shredding machines, and could handle up to 300 car bumpers an hour, Mr Haynes believes. The Bedfordshire company currently takes in vehicles from insurance companies and local bodyshops, and will provide collection services from any area for 1 a bumper.
In terms of markets, Mr Haynes explained that he sells plastic material to four companies, and although “some of it goes out of the country”, some is being turned into underground drainage systems.
“You can get more for plastics from car bumpers – well, the right kind of car bumpers – than general plastics at the moment,” he said. “They have various compounds for strengthening against impacts which can be very much in demand.”
The way implementation of the ELV Directive is going in the UK at the moment means it is likely that car manufacturers will be obliged to form their own networks of officially accredited reprocessors, Authorised Treatment Facilities (ATFs), to comply with their recycling obligations. Molo Revocare has already spoken to Renault about a possible relationship, and is also due to speak to Vauxhall.
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