Recycling has become an important part of preserving the environment—but it’s not just about plastic bottles and aluminum cans anymore. Now you can recycle your old clunker too. Modern automobile recyclers aren’t your average auto wrecker. These recyclers ensure that end-of-life vehicles are stripped of all reusable parts and are retired in an environmentally safe manner. Their practices help prevent dangerous toxins from being released into the ground and water, and help reduce the need for new parts to be manufactured.
When it comes to recycling a vehicle, there are three main steps that maximize the amount of material that can be reclaimed.
Step one involves draining any remaining fluids from the vehicle such as oil, gas and coolants. On average between 20 and 40 litres of fluid are removed from a single vehicle. Because these fluids can pose a significant threat to the environment if not handled properly, technicians use special equipment and follow strict disposal protocols to prevent any groundwater contamination. At this stage the gas tank, battery and tires are also removed and recycled, reused or disposed of appropriately.
Step two is the main removal of parts. Most parts, depending on their age and condition, can be re-used. As the vehicle is dismantled, reusable parts are inspected, tested and prepared for re-sale by being tagged, coded and entered into a computerized inventory system. Information such as the VIN number, model, mileage and year of the vehicle that the part came from are recorded so that when the part is sold the buyer knows exactly what they’re getting. Some parts such as engines and transmissions must be remanufactured before being sold, while lights and wheels may only need to be reconditioned. Reusing car parts ultimately decreases the need for manufacturers to create new parts, saving time, money and materials.
Step three is the recycling and material recovery process. Once all of the fluids and reusable parts are removed from the vehicle it can be crushed and shredded into small handfuls of metal. The ferrous (such as iron) and non-ferrous (such as aluminum) metals are then separated and reused to make new vehicles and other products.
So, what are some of the benefits of recycled vehicle parts? The environmental benefits include a reduction in the amount of waste ending up in landfills, less energy and resources needed to manufacture new vehicle parts and a reduction in the amount of harmful emissions being released into the environment from new product manufacturing.
For the consumer it means that whether you need a replacement part for a current vehicle or a hard-to-find part for a classic car, at roughly half the cost of new parts, recycled parts can save you money. And because each recycled part is thoroughly inspected and tested, you can rest assured that it will be in good working order. Some auto recyclers even offer longer and optional extended warranties on recycled parts.
Finding a recycled part is easy too. After a component is removed from a vehicle it is assigned an industry-wide interchange number that identifies what type of vehicle and model it will fit. Additional information such as the condition of the part is also recorded. Once tagged and given an inventory number, the part is entered into a computerized inventory system. The Ontario Automotive Recyclers Association Green Parts program allows people to find recycled parts for their specific vehicle with just a few mouse clicks. With the online parts finder all you have to do is enter what kind of part you are looking for and a list of available parts at automotive recyclers across the province will be generated for you. Go to www.gogreenparts.ca to search the province-wide online inventory or to find the Member nearest you.
Summer CAA Magazine
Friday, April 02, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Auto parts recycling keeps older cars on the road longer, helps environment
Mechanic David Mabon is a practical guy.
He sees little reason to order expensive, new auto parts when recycled ones will work just as well, and it happens that Mabon, as a Decatur resident, is surrounded by a nearly inexhaustible supply.
Just ask Caleb Beasley or Joey Devereux of Decatur, competing general managers of two businesses located within 50 yards of one another. Both are family businesses, and both Beasley's Decatur Auto Parts and Devereux's Available Auto Parts have stood in their current locations since 1977. They maintain an amicable competition.
"The industry has totally changed over the years," said Devereux, who works with his brother and father at Available Auto Parts, 2670 N. Woodford St. "The retail customer doesn't exist like he used to. Collectors don't come looking for parts anymore, because the parts aren't there, due to higher prices for scrap. Now, we sell to mechanics themselves, because the real customers are hard-working people trying to keep their cars on the road."
Mostly gone are the days when the recycler's yard filled with end-of-life cars would be picked over by car enthusiasts looking for custom hoods or steering wheels. In a more depressed economy, consumers are happy to look for recycled car parts that can equal a significant savings. And the "green" aspect of recycling is just a bonus.
Mabon is the owner and mechanic at Mabon's automotive, 836 N. Main St. He visits Available Auto Parts "at least" four times a week, seeking recycled parts that save his customers money.
"Yesterday, I installed a transmission that I bought recycled for $250," Mabon said. "I charged the customer $400. If I had taken out his old one to have it rebuilt, it would have cost almost $1,000. A new one would have been around $1,200."
Mabon stands by the quality of the parts, saying there is little reason not to make use of a resource that literally has been thrown away by those not understanding its worth. He added that his own cars are full of recycled parts.
"It's a waste," he said. "A lot of these cars don't even have 50,000 miles on them. I've been working on cars for over 30 years, and most used parts last just as long as new ones."
Auto recycling is a huge, $22 billion industry in America, the 16th largest in the country, according to the Automotive Recycler's Association. It's well-represented locally: Decatur is home to a great wealth of auto-recycling resources. The two lots together house thousands of cars, trucks and other vehicles.
Additionally, Beasley's Decatur Auto Parts was named one of the "25 most influential auto recyclers" in the country in 2008 by Locator UpFront, a national auto recycling magazine. Beasley, who works with eight family members, including his uncle, father, brother, cousin, mother, aunt and grandmother, affirmed that the recycled original equipment manufacturer parts found in recycled cars are often of higher quality than unused after-market parts produced overseas and not installed in the original vehicles.
"They just seem to fit better a lot of the time," Beasley said. "Better quality, less money. Most mechanics prefer installing recycled parts, and the consumer's insurance companies prefer they get used parts as well because they're less expensive."
Not only does recycling save consumers money, it's better for the environment. As it turns out, auto recycling is an inherently environmentally friendly industry. After all, its entire focus is on getting the most reusable materials out of cars that are never meant to run again. Almost every material that can be reused is harvested.
"We fight and struggle for every drop of oil in the car to feed our oil furnaces," said Devereux, whose building is heated by the oil and gas scavenged from cars on the lot. "We drill the gas tank and reclaim all the refrigerants and fluids. We rip out all the copper. We turn a useless wreck into parts that might keep half a dozen cars running."
The recycling of steel fenders alone saves more than 5 million tons of iron from being mined each year in the United States. It also saves nearly 3 million tons of coal and 250,000 tons of limestone. According to a study by the University of Colorado, these figures, converted to energy expended, could be used to fly the world's airliners nearly 100 million miles. All that energy from recycled fenders.
National auto recycling organizations are proud of the industry's environmental impact. The slogan of the Automotive Recycler's Association is "When you're thinking about used parts, think green parts." Green, indeed. The University of Colorado study estimates that 24 million gallons of oil are extracted from end-of-life vehicles in the United States each year.
As millions of vehicles continue to roll off assembly lines each year worldwide, the supply of "end-of-life" cars filled with valuable parts continues to increase. Despite the size of the recycling industry, cars cannot be recycled as quickly as they are brought in. This leads to waste, as some cars are ultimately scrapped containing parts that could still be of use.
Because of this, the number of parts sold per vehicle continues to fall, according to Devereux. This gap likely will continue to grow unless more consumers choose to take advantage of recycled parts.
"Recycled parts save money and energy," Devereux said. "The industry is more efficient now than ever before, shipping parts all over the country."
The parts are there, waiting for consumers to take advantage of them. One man's junker might turn out to be another man's treasure.
http://www.herald-review.com/news/local/article_15ebf466-9b60-566b-89f0-00c4abed2746.html
jvorel@herald-review.com|
He sees little reason to order expensive, new auto parts when recycled ones will work just as well, and it happens that Mabon, as a Decatur resident, is surrounded by a nearly inexhaustible supply.
Just ask Caleb Beasley or Joey Devereux of Decatur, competing general managers of two businesses located within 50 yards of one another. Both are family businesses, and both Beasley's Decatur Auto Parts and Devereux's Available Auto Parts have stood in their current locations since 1977. They maintain an amicable competition.
"The industry has totally changed over the years," said Devereux, who works with his brother and father at Available Auto Parts, 2670 N. Woodford St. "The retail customer doesn't exist like he used to. Collectors don't come looking for parts anymore, because the parts aren't there, due to higher prices for scrap. Now, we sell to mechanics themselves, because the real customers are hard-working people trying to keep their cars on the road."
Mostly gone are the days when the recycler's yard filled with end-of-life cars would be picked over by car enthusiasts looking for custom hoods or steering wheels. In a more depressed economy, consumers are happy to look for recycled car parts that can equal a significant savings. And the "green" aspect of recycling is just a bonus.
Mabon is the owner and mechanic at Mabon's automotive, 836 N. Main St. He visits Available Auto Parts "at least" four times a week, seeking recycled parts that save his customers money.
"Yesterday, I installed a transmission that I bought recycled for $250," Mabon said. "I charged the customer $400. If I had taken out his old one to have it rebuilt, it would have cost almost $1,000. A new one would have been around $1,200."
Mabon stands by the quality of the parts, saying there is little reason not to make use of a resource that literally has been thrown away by those not understanding its worth. He added that his own cars are full of recycled parts.
"It's a waste," he said. "A lot of these cars don't even have 50,000 miles on them. I've been working on cars for over 30 years, and most used parts last just as long as new ones."
Auto recycling is a huge, $22 billion industry in America, the 16th largest in the country, according to the Automotive Recycler's Association. It's well-represented locally: Decatur is home to a great wealth of auto-recycling resources. The two lots together house thousands of cars, trucks and other vehicles.
Additionally, Beasley's Decatur Auto Parts was named one of the "25 most influential auto recyclers" in the country in 2008 by Locator UpFront, a national auto recycling magazine. Beasley, who works with eight family members, including his uncle, father, brother, cousin, mother, aunt and grandmother, affirmed that the recycled original equipment manufacturer parts found in recycled cars are often of higher quality than unused after-market parts produced overseas and not installed in the original vehicles.
"They just seem to fit better a lot of the time," Beasley said. "Better quality, less money. Most mechanics prefer installing recycled parts, and the consumer's insurance companies prefer they get used parts as well because they're less expensive."
Not only does recycling save consumers money, it's better for the environment. As it turns out, auto recycling is an inherently environmentally friendly industry. After all, its entire focus is on getting the most reusable materials out of cars that are never meant to run again. Almost every material that can be reused is harvested.
"We fight and struggle for every drop of oil in the car to feed our oil furnaces," said Devereux, whose building is heated by the oil and gas scavenged from cars on the lot. "We drill the gas tank and reclaim all the refrigerants and fluids. We rip out all the copper. We turn a useless wreck into parts that might keep half a dozen cars running."
The recycling of steel fenders alone saves more than 5 million tons of iron from being mined each year in the United States. It also saves nearly 3 million tons of coal and 250,000 tons of limestone. According to a study by the University of Colorado, these figures, converted to energy expended, could be used to fly the world's airliners nearly 100 million miles. All that energy from recycled fenders.
National auto recycling organizations are proud of the industry's environmental impact. The slogan of the Automotive Recycler's Association is "When you're thinking about used parts, think green parts." Green, indeed. The University of Colorado study estimates that 24 million gallons of oil are extracted from end-of-life vehicles in the United States each year.
As millions of vehicles continue to roll off assembly lines each year worldwide, the supply of "end-of-life" cars filled with valuable parts continues to increase. Despite the size of the recycling industry, cars cannot be recycled as quickly as they are brought in. This leads to waste, as some cars are ultimately scrapped containing parts that could still be of use.
Because of this, the number of parts sold per vehicle continues to fall, according to Devereux. This gap likely will continue to grow unless more consumers choose to take advantage of recycled parts.
"Recycled parts save money and energy," Devereux said. "The industry is more efficient now than ever before, shipping parts all over the country."
The parts are there, waiting for consumers to take advantage of them. One man's junker might turn out to be another man's treasure.
http://www.herald-review.com/news/local/article_15ebf466-9b60-566b-89f0-00c4abed2746.html
jvorel@herald-review.com|
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Japan - New guidelines to differentiate between used cars, scrap vehicles
The Japanese government is set to formulate new guidelines to differentiate between used cars and scrap vehicles, in order to prevent auto dealers from selling off damaged vehicles on Internet auctions to escape recycling fees.
The Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry plan to introduce new criteria to assess the value of used cars, as an increasing number of car dealers are selling scrap vehicles via online auctions to shift the recycling costs to auto wreckers.
Following the introduction of the End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling Law in 2005, which requires car owners to pay recycling fees for scrap vehicles, car dealers began to put damaged vehicles on auctions, just like ordinary secondhand cars, in an attempt to escape dismantling costs.
As a result, the number of end-of-life vehicles on the market decreased, prompting auto dismantlers to purchase disused cars via Internet auctions to secure work, even though they have to shoulder the recycling costs instead of the original owners. However, as this trend goes against the spirit of the law, the ministries have decided to clarify those vehicles eligible for reselling and those subject to recycling.
Behind the trend is an increase in exports of secondhand cars, as well as the rapid growth of the used-car auction market. According to the Nippon Auto Auction Association, the number of used cars put on auctions increased from 6.81 million units in 2004 to 8.87 million units in 2008. Before the recycling legislation was enacted, auto dealers used to buy unwanted vehicles from their owners and entrusted the dismantling and recycling works to secondhand car dealerships and wreckers; however, along with the introduction of the new law, end-of-life vehicles began to be traded via auctions, leading to the complaint from auto dismantlers.
The new guideline will especially focus on the engine condition and distance traveled of used cars. The ministries will set up a new team under the Central Environment Council and the Industrial Structure Council as early as next month, and aim to compile the guidelines by summer.
However, the move is expected to arouse controversy in the industry, with some people insisting the assessment of the value of automobiles be left up to the market.
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20100208p2a00m0na016000c.html
The Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry plan to introduce new criteria to assess the value of used cars, as an increasing number of car dealers are selling scrap vehicles via online auctions to shift the recycling costs to auto wreckers.
Following the introduction of the End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling Law in 2005, which requires car owners to pay recycling fees for scrap vehicles, car dealers began to put damaged vehicles on auctions, just like ordinary secondhand cars, in an attempt to escape dismantling costs.
As a result, the number of end-of-life vehicles on the market decreased, prompting auto dismantlers to purchase disused cars via Internet auctions to secure work, even though they have to shoulder the recycling costs instead of the original owners. However, as this trend goes against the spirit of the law, the ministries have decided to clarify those vehicles eligible for reselling and those subject to recycling.
Behind the trend is an increase in exports of secondhand cars, as well as the rapid growth of the used-car auction market. According to the Nippon Auto Auction Association, the number of used cars put on auctions increased from 6.81 million units in 2004 to 8.87 million units in 2008. Before the recycling legislation was enacted, auto dealers used to buy unwanted vehicles from their owners and entrusted the dismantling and recycling works to secondhand car dealerships and wreckers; however, along with the introduction of the new law, end-of-life vehicles began to be traded via auctions, leading to the complaint from auto dismantlers.
The new guideline will especially focus on the engine condition and distance traveled of used cars. The ministries will set up a new team under the Central Environment Council and the Industrial Structure Council as early as next month, and aim to compile the guidelines by summer.
However, the move is expected to arouse controversy in the industry, with some people insisting the assessment of the value of automobiles be left up to the market.
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20100208p2a00m0na016000c.html
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
I-CAR to Share Info with Automotive Recyclers
The Automotive Recyclers Association Education Foundation (ARAEF), developer of educational programs and skill training for the members of the Automotive Recyclers Association and the automotive recycling industry, has announced its collaboration with I-CAR, the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair, a not-for-profit organization that provides training to the collision repair inter-industry.
In a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the two organizations outlined plans for mutually promoting the level of knowledge and skills required to improve communication and educational exchanges between the automotive recycling industry and the collision repair industry.
"Our planned partnership presents an enormous range of potential benefits to the automotive recycling and collision industries," said ARAEF Managing Director Virginia Whelan. "This collaboration will undoubtedly result in new educational training tools and endeavours with tremendous potential for innovation and far-reaching benefit."
“A mutual understanding of each other’s industries can go a long way in improving communications and meeting customer expectations.” said Jamie Jacobs, I-CAR instructional designer. “This agreement between the ARAEF and I-CAR is a big step forward toward this goal, and provides a commitment from both industries to continuing education with regard to the considerations for recycled parts usage during collision repairs.”
The exchange between the ARAEF and I-CAR will improve communication and promote the value of education between automotive recyclers and collision repairers focused on automotive collision claim and repair process.
In a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the two organizations outlined plans for mutually promoting the level of knowledge and skills required to improve communication and educational exchanges between the automotive recycling industry and the collision repair industry.
"Our planned partnership presents an enormous range of potential benefits to the automotive recycling and collision industries," said ARAEF Managing Director Virginia Whelan. "This collaboration will undoubtedly result in new educational training tools and endeavours with tremendous potential for innovation and far-reaching benefit."
“A mutual understanding of each other’s industries can go a long way in improving communications and meeting customer expectations.” said Jamie Jacobs, I-CAR instructional designer. “This agreement between the ARAEF and I-CAR is a big step forward toward this goal, and provides a commitment from both industries to continuing education with regard to the considerations for recycled parts usage during collision repairs.”
The exchange between the ARAEF and I-CAR will improve communication and promote the value of education between automotive recyclers and collision repairers focused on automotive collision claim and repair process.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Design to Disassembly: A Vision for Extended Producer Responsibility for ELVs in Canada
Since November of 2009 both Ontario and Quebec have put forth new waste diversion policy proposals that would see original equipment manufacturers assume responsibility for the environmental management of their end-of-life-vehicles (ELV) within the next five years.
Assigning end-of-life (EOL) responsibilities for waste to product producers is not a new concept.
To understand the theory behind extended producer responsibility (EPR) one only needs to consider the quote about corporate social responsibility by the famous economist Milton Friedman, “…there is one and only one social responsibility of business--to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud."
By extension EPR changes “the rules of the game” by assigning the EOL responsibilities for waste to producers thus giving them a strong incentive to reduce the costs associated with managing those wastes as they compete with one another. Measures to reduce costs might include seeking out specialized third parties who can collect and recycle wastes cost effectively or redesigning products for easier and less costly recycling.
About 15 years ago provincial governments began to take a strong interest in EPR as a means to shift the cost of end-of-life management of waste materials from the tax base to producers of products. At that time they focused their efforts on common consumer waste products for which no existing recycling programs existed. Accordingly, many Canadian jurisdictions now have programs loosely based on EPR based principles for various consumer products such as used tires, paints, hazardous and special wastes, beverage containers and paper and packaging materials.
More recently, as governments have begun to consider more complicated, value-laden products such as waste electronics and electrical equipment (WEEE), white goods, and ELVs they have found that there are already a significant number of vigorous, profitable private-sector businesses engaged in the collection and resource recovery of these EOL products.
In the case where there is already market activity, building EPR programs does not mean building new market relationships from scratch. Rather, it means finding ways to harness and incentivize existing resource recovery markets to discharge producers’ EOL obligations (as discussed further on).
Ontario’s waste diversion laws require producers to discharge their EOL responsibilities collectively as “Industry Funding Organizations” or IFOs. IFOs typically ignore pre-existing waste collection and processing market activities in favor of using the IFO’s monopoly buying power to set collector and processor prices and to effect overt control on the flow of materials within the program.
In the case of Ontario’s WEEE program the WEEE IFO has used restrictive tendering practices and a quota system for allocating WEEE to processors thus undermining growth and investment in the WEEE processing sector. This has inadvertently limited the ability for producers to increase waste diversion and meet their WEEE diversion environmental targets.
Finally, Ontario’s monopoly based approach EPR to programs has proven to be very expensive for the waste diversion performance achieved.
In this regard, the Ontario Minister of Environment has noted that Ontario’s current provincial waste diversion “framework and approach is not an optimum way to drive diversion, innovation or competition.” Accordingly, Ontario is seeking to reform its Waste Diversion Act to remove the requirement for mandated collective EPR programs and thus allow competition between product producers and EOL waste processors to flourish.
With this experience in mind, we turn to the Canadian ELV processing sector as comprised of hundreds of ELV processors. These long-standing businesses compete to derive the maximum economic and material value from ELVs through recovery of reusable or remanufacturable automotive components, the recycling of non-reusable materials and the recovery of toxic materials for recycling or proper disposal. This competition between ELV processors for valuable materials drives ELV recovery rates that are estimated to be over 90 per cent in North America.
In many cases, Canadian ELV processors operate to high environmental standards as codified in the National Code of Practice for Automotive Recyclers developed by the Automotive Recyclers of Canada (ARC) for Canada’s for the Retire Your Ride vehicle scrappage program. In many other cases, ELV processors do not meet this standard but could easily attain the standard were the right incentives put in place.
Where ELV processors do not currently meet the National Code, the prospect of greater volumes of valuable reusable and recyclable components in a typical ELV might provide all of the incentive an ELV processor needs to invest in order to meet the standard and grow as processing volumes increase.
Essentially, an effective EPR program for ELVs in Canada involves OEMs ensuring their ELVs are processed only by those ELV processors verified as operating to a national environmental standard.
More specifically an EPR program for ELVs would involve:
OEMs meeting an ELV recovery target calculated as a percentage of the vehicles they sold into a given Canadian market. Recovery targets could be met using a host of potential existing collection opportunities (i.e. current ELV processor collection activities, OEM dealership networks, an expansion of the existing national Retire Your Ride program etc.).
Tracking recovered ELVs from point of collection to the point at which they have been processed by an ELV processor for reuse or recycling.
Allowing any ELV processor accredited and verified as operating to the specified environmental standard to compete for, collect and receive ELVs for processing. This standard might be an embellished version of the National Code that would include a definition of reuse or recycling for various ELV components (these definitions typically involves recovering the intrinsic material value of the products or materials in question).
OEMs undertaking efforts to assist ELV processors in increasing reuse and recycling of residual materials or proper disposal of materials of specific concern (i.e. ozone depleting substances such as refrigerants used in air conditioning systems).
Reporting on the environmental performance of the ELV EPR program.
And environmental performance auditing of ELV processors serving to discharge OEM ELV obligations.
The fundamental strength of this market-based approach EPR for ELVs is that it builds on an existing competitive ELV processing sector by basing competition between ELV processors on an environmental standard. Competition between ELV processors ensures least cost to OEM’s and their consumers. Enforced ELV recovery targets drive increased ELV processor volume thus ensuring sufficient profitability for reinvestment and growth in a “green sector” of Canada’s economy.
ARC is committed to a national vision for ELV EPR predicated on high environmental standards and market competition. We will be working with our OEM partners and Canadian provincial governments to ensure that the tried and true workings of free markets are brought to bear on the end-of-life management of vehicles in Canada.
by Usman A. Valiante, Corporate Policy Group
Assigning end-of-life (EOL) responsibilities for waste to product producers is not a new concept.
To understand the theory behind extended producer responsibility (EPR) one only needs to consider the quote about corporate social responsibility by the famous economist Milton Friedman, “…there is one and only one social responsibility of business--to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud."
By extension EPR changes “the rules of the game” by assigning the EOL responsibilities for waste to producers thus giving them a strong incentive to reduce the costs associated with managing those wastes as they compete with one another. Measures to reduce costs might include seeking out specialized third parties who can collect and recycle wastes cost effectively or redesigning products for easier and less costly recycling.
About 15 years ago provincial governments began to take a strong interest in EPR as a means to shift the cost of end-of-life management of waste materials from the tax base to producers of products. At that time they focused their efforts on common consumer waste products for which no existing recycling programs existed. Accordingly, many Canadian jurisdictions now have programs loosely based on EPR based principles for various consumer products such as used tires, paints, hazardous and special wastes, beverage containers and paper and packaging materials.
More recently, as governments have begun to consider more complicated, value-laden products such as waste electronics and electrical equipment (WEEE), white goods, and ELVs they have found that there are already a significant number of vigorous, profitable private-sector businesses engaged in the collection and resource recovery of these EOL products.
In the case where there is already market activity, building EPR programs does not mean building new market relationships from scratch. Rather, it means finding ways to harness and incentivize existing resource recovery markets to discharge producers’ EOL obligations (as discussed further on).
Ontario’s waste diversion laws require producers to discharge their EOL responsibilities collectively as “Industry Funding Organizations” or IFOs. IFOs typically ignore pre-existing waste collection and processing market activities in favor of using the IFO’s monopoly buying power to set collector and processor prices and to effect overt control on the flow of materials within the program.
In the case of Ontario’s WEEE program the WEEE IFO has used restrictive tendering practices and a quota system for allocating WEEE to processors thus undermining growth and investment in the WEEE processing sector. This has inadvertently limited the ability for producers to increase waste diversion and meet their WEEE diversion environmental targets.
Finally, Ontario’s monopoly based approach EPR to programs has proven to be very expensive for the waste diversion performance achieved.
In this regard, the Ontario Minister of Environment has noted that Ontario’s current provincial waste diversion “framework and approach is not an optimum way to drive diversion, innovation or competition.” Accordingly, Ontario is seeking to reform its Waste Diversion Act to remove the requirement for mandated collective EPR programs and thus allow competition between product producers and EOL waste processors to flourish.
With this experience in mind, we turn to the Canadian ELV processing sector as comprised of hundreds of ELV processors. These long-standing businesses compete to derive the maximum economic and material value from ELVs through recovery of reusable or remanufacturable automotive components, the recycling of non-reusable materials and the recovery of toxic materials for recycling or proper disposal. This competition between ELV processors for valuable materials drives ELV recovery rates that are estimated to be over 90 per cent in North America.
In many cases, Canadian ELV processors operate to high environmental standards as codified in the National Code of Practice for Automotive Recyclers developed by the Automotive Recyclers of Canada (ARC) for Canada’s for the Retire Your Ride vehicle scrappage program. In many other cases, ELV processors do not meet this standard but could easily attain the standard were the right incentives put in place.
Where ELV processors do not currently meet the National Code, the prospect of greater volumes of valuable reusable and recyclable components in a typical ELV might provide all of the incentive an ELV processor needs to invest in order to meet the standard and grow as processing volumes increase.
Essentially, an effective EPR program for ELVs in Canada involves OEMs ensuring their ELVs are processed only by those ELV processors verified as operating to a national environmental standard.
More specifically an EPR program for ELVs would involve:
OEMs meeting an ELV recovery target calculated as a percentage of the vehicles they sold into a given Canadian market. Recovery targets could be met using a host of potential existing collection opportunities (i.e. current ELV processor collection activities, OEM dealership networks, an expansion of the existing national Retire Your Ride program etc.).
Tracking recovered ELVs from point of collection to the point at which they have been processed by an ELV processor for reuse or recycling.
Allowing any ELV processor accredited and verified as operating to the specified environmental standard to compete for, collect and receive ELVs for processing. This standard might be an embellished version of the National Code that would include a definition of reuse or recycling for various ELV components (these definitions typically involves recovering the intrinsic material value of the products or materials in question).
OEMs undertaking efforts to assist ELV processors in increasing reuse and recycling of residual materials or proper disposal of materials of specific concern (i.e. ozone depleting substances such as refrigerants used in air conditioning systems).
Reporting on the environmental performance of the ELV EPR program.
And environmental performance auditing of ELV processors serving to discharge OEM ELV obligations.
The fundamental strength of this market-based approach EPR for ELVs is that it builds on an existing competitive ELV processing sector by basing competition between ELV processors on an environmental standard. Competition between ELV processors ensures least cost to OEM’s and their consumers. Enforced ELV recovery targets drive increased ELV processor volume thus ensuring sufficient profitability for reinvestment and growth in a “green sector” of Canada’s economy.
ARC is committed to a national vision for ELV EPR predicated on high environmental standards and market competition. We will be working with our OEM partners and Canadian provincial governments to ensure that the tried and true workings of free markets are brought to bear on the end-of-life management of vehicles in Canada.
by Usman A. Valiante, Corporate Policy Group
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