Hope for ASR? - Scrap Industry News - DaimlerChrysler Corp., Environmental Research and Education Foundation - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Recycling Today, July, 2002

DaimlerChrysler Corp., Auburn Hills, Mich., has been recognized as the 2002 "Environmentalist of the Year" by the Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF).

The automaker was among 24 nominees who vied for the award, which was announced by EREF at its board meeting in Austin, Texas. DaimlerChrysler was selected in recognition of its "extraordinary leadership contributions toward activities related to waste recycling, processing, reuse and disposal," according to an EREF news release.

DaimlerChrysler's CARE (Concepts for Advanced Recycling and Environmental) Car II program was recognized for its emphasis on using recycled content plastic to make plastic automotive components. While the metal portion of automobiles is traditionally recycled easily into new metal products, the plastics portion has been more problematic.

As part of the project, Chrysler Group used automotive shredder residue (ASR) as material for components used in new cars. Chrysler worked with 26 production suppliers and Recovery Plastics International (RPI), Salt Lake City, Utah, to retrofit two Jeep Grand Cherokees with 54 recycled plastic parts.

Chrysler says it is the first automaker to use RPI's proprietary plastic flotation technology to separate the myriad of plastic types found in ASR--most of which is currently landfilled- and use the recovered plastic to manufacture new vehicle parts.

The recycled parts meet the same material specifications required for production vehicles and were manufactured by the Chrysler Group's suppliers. The suppliers used current production molds and processes to produce the parts--at a lower cost than using virgin plastic, according to the company. Chrysler Group estimates that the recycled plastic can save $10 to $20 per vehicle.

The goals of the CARE program are to increase the recyclability and recovery of automobiles from 75 percent to about 95 percent by weight and to increase the use of recycled materials in production vehicles. Reclaiming the plastic portion of ASR created by auto shredders will be necessary to meet that goal.

Bernard Robertson of DaimlerChrysler accepted the award in late June.