Page 35 - Plastics News April 2025

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ards. Mechanical recycling is not always able
to achieve these results, but chemical recycling
may pose a solution. Ensuring that manufactur-
ers use the most effective techniques for each
material application can allow for wider use of
recycled materials.

Recycling Plastic from Electric Vehicles

Recycling automotive waste from ELVs is a com-
plex issue with many factors to consider. Often,
automotive plastic waste is 15–20 years old and
can contain high levels of contamination. This
contamination can arise from sources such as
wood, fluid residues, and brominated flame re-
tardants. Additionally, the use of carbon black,
a black pigment commonly used in automotive
plastic, can also pose issues for recycling. These
concerns lead to discarding, rather than recy-
cling, many automotive plastics, but advance- The increased use of plastic in the automotive
ments in polymer sorting may alleviate this issue. industry foretells a rise in plastic waste from
ELVs. Coordination across the industry can aid in
Different polymer types and their degrees of maintaining the quality of plastic feedstock. Au-
separation also determine their recyclability. tomotive manufacturing requires stringent per-
Though higher sorting allows less carbon-inten- formance standards for parts and components,
sive, expensive technologies, it implies higher which in turn demand high-quality materials. As
costs and material losses. Vehicles have many auto makers move towards greener manufac-
requirements from the materials of their com- turing, they must consider the unique demands
ponents, so various recycling technologies are and challenges of their industry.
necessary in the automotive industry.
Source – Plastics Engineering
Planning for the Future

April 2025 PLASTICS NEWS 35