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End of Life Vehicles (ELV)– rapid upskilling at the bottom with clever simplification at the top
The ELV Cluster is effectively developing what is the automotive supply chain in reverse, from collection to de-pollution to recycling to remanufacturing. The increasing overlaps between materials recycling, automotive engineering, and logistics, mean that the traditional ‘supply chain’ solutions are being replaced by more diverse networks or ‘clusters’. The spirit of the ELV Directive and associated producer responsibility legislation is really about making better use of resources. In our case this is better resource use within the automotive sector, including closing material loops by recycling materials more, and extending remanufacturing possibilities by reducing potential hazards within vehicle parts and other materials. Interestingly, the way the directive is framed - setting a minimum distance of 10 miles for free recycling service for 70% of the population, and maximum of 30 miles for all - necessitates cooperation small dismantlers and large multinational car makers. These new - and free - UK wide recycling networks to be set up by each car manufacturer are pretty much ready and waiting for the deadline of 1st January 2007, but their set up has been certainly aided by the high price of recycled steel, much of which is bound for China for the foreseeable future. Composite materials - readers will be aware - have had a lot of good press recently. Despite the excitement within academia, composite materials far too often can make recycling more difficult, which should not be ignored by researchers. If one becomes responsible for recycling a mass market product (as the car makers have) this is a very serious issue.With this in mind, it is little wonder that companies are raising interested eyebrows with their new light steels. Increasingly, simplification of vehicle and engine design will play a part and some of our work has involved working with selected component suppliers to change to either easier to recycle materials, remove or reduce toxic materials, simplify the variety of plastics used, or incorporate secondary materials within manufacturing. Understandably, the wider membership of this ELV Cluster not only includes traditional automotive waste companies such as vehicle dismantlers, tyre processors, automotive fluids processors, shredder facilities, and metal and plastic recyclers, but also original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), automotive consultancies, academia, Local Authorities, and various other public bodies. Our recent focus over the last year divides into broadly two parts. The first focus has been supporting the companies we would have called ‘scrap yards’ in the past to develop the skills to cope with the new demands of being licensed and audited, clean and computerised, modern materials recycling businesses that are now negotiating contracts with representatives of multinational motor manufacturers. The second focus has been supporting new and innovative companies looking to process or manufacture new products from non-steel materials derived from the ELVs, such as waste oils, vehicle tyres, various plastics, and lead-acid batteries etc.
Together our collective ambition is to put Wales at the forefront of the rapidly growing industrial scale recycling sector. One of the group’s personal ambitions for next year is to see the ultimate closed loop of a new automotive component accepted by a major car maker, produced here in Wales from secondary materials derived from ELVs. Easier said than done you may say but we think we might have just cracked it... so watch this space! Joe Hughes is the ELV Cluster Manager at the Welsh Assembly Government. Email: joey.hughes@wales.gsi.gov.uk Tel: 01970 613268
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Materials Network Wales 2005 | Last Updated: Sep 05 2006 | info@mnw.org.uk
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