The purpose of this study is to define requirements for technological and business success in the world's first implementation of Reverse-Supply-Chain, in which bumper materials of end-of-life vehicles (ELV) are recycled for use as ingredients in new bumper materials.
In Japan, ELVs are recovered following to the government regulation. About 20% (700,000 ton) of such collected ELVs are automotive shredder residues (ASR), most of which are burnt as fuel or used as landfill trash. ASRs are mainly plastics, which are largely used as materials of bumpers.
The reverse-supply-chain was started as a small business by a collaboration between the car manufacture (Mazda), dismantler, and resource-recycling business operator, and enhanced by the development of easy-to-recycle bumpers, technologies of paint removal from crushed bumpers and sorting-out, a material quality control method, and improvement in transportation efficiency.
In this paper, requirements for the establishment of the reverse-supply-chain are defined, which enable continuous horizontal-recycle of discarded bumpers of low utility value, further promoting recycling activities of disused plastics, contributing to the reduction in the use of underground resources and green-house gas emissions.
Future tasks include the establishments of a classification standard for material and thermal recycle of the ASR plastics, and data base/reconstruction technology applicable to discarded vehicles of any makes, and the reverse-supply-chain on a national level.