Institutional, Technology, and Policies of End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling Industry and Its Indication on the Circular Economy- Comparative Analysis Between China and Japan

Abstract

With economic development and accelerated industrialization, resource consumption has seen rapid increase. Against such a consumer boom, vehicle ownership has rocketed up, which also brings surging numbers of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs). Thus, recycling and disposing those ELVs turn out to be a head-scratching issue. As a result, how to effectively collect, dismantle, and recycling ELVs grows into a global topic. In China, over the past two decades, the Chinese vehicle ownership had grown rapidly to 261.5 million in 2019. Likewise, the ELV recycling industry in China also faces mounting challenges, especially in policy-making, recycling system, and the remanufacturing industry. The key challenges in the sector are the loss of ELVs and illegal dismantling. In recent years, despite the emergency of a group of large-scale quality dismantling enterprises, the overall technological level in the industry and the recycling rate require further advancement. In contrast, countries with highly mature automobile industry have seen a different image. Japan, for instance, has been the pioneer in the field of ELV recycling, created well-rounded laws and regulations on the industry, and developed advanced know-hows to cope with technical challenges. Therefore, this study, firstly, tries to summarize the laws and regulations and the latest industrial status of ELVs recycling in China and Japan. The deviation, if any, shall be analyzed between Japan‘s existing system and policy design, and the possible causes. Secondly, the Material Flow Analysis (MFA) method is adopted to analyse the changes of Resource Input Intensity (RII) of steel and oil for vehicles over the past 10 years, which shall provide the basis for future research on material recycling and waste treatment. Thirdly, the overall recycling rate of China's automobile products is analyzed, with the prediction that as technologies advance and related policies evolve, the recycling rate shall increase from 90 to 98% within 5 years. Fourthly, against the backdrop of circular economy development, this paper tries to provide an enlightenment to ELVs recycling management in China and Asian countries, with the stage of social development, policy system, social awareness of resource recycling, market guidance and other factors combined in the research. As a whole, this study tries to facilitate the sustainable development of the ELV recycling industry, provides support for the policy-making, and contributes to the building of a resource-saving and recycling-oriented society.

Study of Public Perception Toward End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Management in Indonesia

“…Some concerns stem from an increase in abandoned automobiles, which causes a lack of ultimate disposal sites, illicit dumping, and environmental degradation. There are fees that must be incurred in order for ELV recycling to be implemented [32][33][34][35]. These parties are accountable for the costs in their respective nations; for example, in the EU, automotive producers and importers handle the charges.…”

Development, Critical Evaluation, and Proposed Framework: End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling in India

“…India's laws and policies regarding end-of-life vehicles have been studied from the literature to provide clear information regarding government directives towards automobile dismantling procedures. This study also proposes pragmatic frameworks for setting up an efficient ELV recycling system in India based on Indian values to encounter the persistent problems in ELV handling [33,34]. An extensive literature review and a regulation review have been conducted to perform Strength-Weakness-Opportunity-Threat (SWOT) and Political-Economic-Social-Technological-Legal-Environmental (PES-TLE) analysis; this is instrumental in proposing an efficient ELV system and design, re-built and implementing a new policy regarding ELV handling.…”

End-of-Life Vehicle Management Systems in Major Automotive Production Bases in Southeast Asia: A Review

“…As a result of discussion in government councils about establishing the new ELV recycling system, the Law for the Recycling of ELV Vehicle was enacted in 2002 and enforced in 2005 [23], as reported in Table 2. With the need to reduce ASR due to a lack of final disposal sites, and effective use of resources, as well as to prevent illegal dumping and inappropriate treatment of ELV due to fluctuations in the steel scrap market [23], the ELV Recycling Law intended to establish appropriate roles among relevant players such as automobile manufacturers, vehicle owners, dismantling firms, ELVs collectors, resource recycling companies, fluorocarbons recycling enterprises and industry associations [38] to promote sound treatment and recycling ELVs.…”

“…When collecting and delivering ELVs, gas generators, fluorocarbons, dismantled vehicles and ASR, the relevant operators report to the manifest system. Furthermore, the ELV Recycling Law specifies the responsibilities of automobile manufacturers and importers for the recycling of airbags and ASR, as well as the safe treatment of fluorocarbons, but the recycling fees must be paid by the vehicle owner [37][38][39]. Ref.…”