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  Re-use of components from the car recycling industry.  
 
  Beneficiary   Background   Objectives   Results   Partners   Benefiting Regions   Legislative Reference   Read More   Project Administration  

Beneficiary: ECRIS AB
  Bäckamarken
  555 92  Jönköping
  Sverige
 
  Project Manager: Hans HARTMANN
    Tel: +036-393350
    Fax: +036-393360
    Email: ecris@swipnet.se
 
  Type of Organisation: Mixt enterprise
  Description: The ECRIS AB company was formed specifically to run the project in cooperation with the
Swedish Association of Motor-Car Scrappers (SBR), the Association of Swedish Automobile
Manufacturers and Wholesalers (BIL), researchers from various Swedish third level
institutions and research institutes, and specialists from other related industries.
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Project Background
  Landfill space in Europe is extremely limited and, in many locales, virtually non-existent. In order to combat this growing problem, the European Economic Community (EEC) has proposed a major reduction in the percentage of a car's weight allowed to enter a landfill.

From the perspective of the project proposal application time in 1998 it was assumed that by the year 2002, EEC may allow only 15 percent of a car's weight to be landfilled and by 2015 that number could decrease to 5 percent. In the United States, similar landfill restrictions are likely to appear in the near future.

In 1998 about 70 to 80 percent of a junked vehicle's weight is recovered and recycled, leaving future recycling efforts to focus on the more difficult-to-recycle items. For example Sweden's Volvo formed the Environmental Car Recycling in Scandinavia (ECRIS) project in order to develop advanced recycling methods for dismantling and sorting recyclable and nonrecyclable materials.

Aside from junked vehicles, ECRIS will work on recycling production waste from Volvo's Swedish plants and used-parts from its Swedish-dealer repair shops. Non-recyclable materials will be used as an energy source. In Gothenburg, Sweden these waste materials are to be used in a heating plant.

Keywords:
clean technology
waste use
automobile industry
energy saving
recycling
hazardous waste
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Project Objectives
  The aim of the project is to re-use more effectively, components from decommissioned vehicles and thereby reduce consumption of virgin resources and energy. Reconditioning processes use considerably less energy than the production of new components from virgin or recycled resources.The hypothesis is that 80% less energy and 85% less raw material are needed for the concerned range of components. The target is to offer the products with a 25% lower retail price.

The project needs to collect data on the consumption of energy and virgin resources and the production of new parts versus re-using old parts.

The innovative feature of the project is to view the car fleet as a potential spare parts store and thereby reduce the need to tie up capital and material in producing new parts. The project also wants to show that to promote collaboration between the vehicle and dismantling industries is preferable to viewing each other as rivals.

The project was carried out during the years 1999-2001. Firstly, the project identified the components or parts of components, which showed potential for increasing the level of re-use. The project then had to develop environmentally-correct dismantling, reconditioning and remanufacturing processes. Before each component could be approved as a product in the system, the environmental effect had to be evaluated.

Secondly, the project aimed to ensure an similar level of quality for all new components. To ensure this quality level, a system was developed for quality assurance.

Finally, the project aimed to secure a financially sound business and an economically and environmentally efficient distribution system.
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Project Results
  With its high-tech and extremely environmentally compatible equipment, the ECRIS
environmental station is a model for the industry. The technology used enables practically
all types of hazardous waste to be processed for destruction and/or recycling under
controlled conditions.

On arrival, a car is washed and inspected to determine which components are working.
The air conditioning unit is drained of CFC or HFC , at the same time as the battery
and mercury switches are removed and placed in special containers.
The car is then raised, using one of the facility’s three platform lifts,and the oils, petrol,brake fluid, coolant, and so on, are drained off. This operation is made highly efficient by the use of vacuum suction equipment.

The liquid pumps are designed to pump class 1 liquids, which are discharged to three
collection tanks in a subterranean pit outside the building . The pit is provided
with a canopy roof on which a petrol pump is mounted for fuelling plant vehicles. A
waste oil sump is located at the eastern end of the building.

In addition to ventilation facilities, the tanks are equipped with level alarms and the pit with a petrol vapour alarm. All alarms are connected to the office. The ventilation unit is provided with fire dampers to isolate the two areas in the event of a fire. Manual fire extinguishers are provided in the building and under the canopy roof.
The facility is operated in accordance with SÄI-INFO 1993:3 (waste oil) and SÄIFS
1990-3 (petrol stations) regulations.

The balance between recycling materials  and energy recovery is of major significance given the price conditions which have been assumed. As a result, the choice of recovery rate and materials to be recycled is important.

The dismantling time and the costs associated with the separation of plastics for recycling are the most cost-intensive factors. Consequently, careful assessment is necessary before deciding to dismantle and recycle materials which do not repay their own costs.The ongoing development of tools and methods should be maintained. The establishment
of current plastic material flows is also important.

Although the cost of landfill disposal has not been crucial to overall profitability until
now, this situation may change with increases in taxes and charges. Further development
of shredding technology and post-shredding sorting methods is desirable to increase the
proportion of metals recovered, to reduce the need for dismantling material and to
improve the feasibility of energy recovery.

The transport requirement should be examined and transport movements well planned to
ensure that this activity does not impose an unnecessary burden in economic or ecological
terms.

The price scenario may well change in the not-too-distant future to favour more an ecologically oriented society and stimulate recycling efforts. Higher material
volumes and improved quality assurance will also yield direct, positive effects while
stimulating demand from environmentally committed companies. Neither is it impossible
that an energy recovery fraction may come to be regarded as a marketable resource in the
future.

Various activities currently under way at both national and international level, including
the Environmentally Compatible Car Recycling project, will provide better information
on many of the aspects which are unclear at present.It will then only remain to evaluate the economic conditions required to achieve 95% recovery by the year 2015.
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Project Partners
  Jönköpings Bildemontering AB
  Volvo Technological Development Corporation
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Benefiting Countries and Regions
Österreich
  Burgenland Niederösterreich Wien Kärnten
  Steiermark Oberösterreich Salzburg Tirol
  Vorarlberg
België - Belgique
  Vlaams Gewest Région Wallonne Bruxelles-Brussel
Deutschland
  Schleswig-Holstein Hamburg Niedersachsen Bremen
  Nordrhein-Westfalen Hessen Rheinland-Pfalz Baden-Württemberg
  Bayern Saarland Berlin Brandenburg
  Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Sachsen Sachsen-Anhalt Thüringen
Danmark
  København Og Frederiksberg Kommuner Københavns amt Frederiksborg amt Roskilde amt
  Vestjællands amt Storstrøms amt Bornholms amt Fyns amt
  Sønderjyllands amt Ribe amt Vejle amt Ringkøbing amt
  Århus amt Viborg amt Nordjyllands amt
España
  Galicia Asturias Cantabria País Vasco
  Navarra Rioja Aragón Madrid
  Castilla-León Castilla-La Mancha Extremadura Cataluña
  Comunidad Valenciana Baleares Andalucía Murcia
  Ceuta y Melilla Canarias
France
  Île,de,France Champagne-Ardennes Picardie Haute-Normandie
  Centre Basse-Normandie Bourgogne Nord-Pas-De-Calais
  Lorraine Alsace Franche-Comté Pays de la Loire
  Bretagne Poitou-Charentes Aquitaine Midi-Pyrénées
  Limousin Rhône-Alpes Auvergne Languedoc-Roussillon
  Provence-Alpes-Côte d' Azur Corse Guadeloupe Martinique
  Guyane Réunion
Finland Suomi
  Uusimaa Varsinais-Suomi Satakunta Häme
  Pirkanmaa Päijät-Häme Kymenlaakso Etelä-Karjala
  Etelä-Savo Pohjois-Savo Pohjois-Karjala Kainuu
  Keski-Suomi Etelä-Pohjanmaa Vaasan rannikkoseutu Keski-Pohjanmaa
  Pohjois-Pohjanmaa Lappi Ahvenanmaa/Åland
Ellas
  Anatoliki Makedonia, Thraki Kentriki Makedonia Dytiki Makedonia Thessalia
  Ipeiros Ionia Nisia Dytiki Ellada Sterea Ellada
  Peloponnisos Attiki Voreio Aigaio Notio Aigaio
  Kriti
Ireland
  East South West (IRL) South East (IRL) North East
  Mid West Donegal Midlands West
  North West (IRL) Mid East Border
Italia
  Piemonte Valle d'Aosta Liguria Lombardia
  Trentino-Alto Adige Veneto Friuli-Venezia Giulia Emilia-Romagna
  Toscana Umbria Marche Lazio
  Campania Abruzzi Molise Puglia
  Basilicata Calabria Sicilia Sardegna
Luxembourg
  Luxembourg
Nederland
  Groningen Friesland Drenthe Overijssel
  Gelderland Flevoland Noord-Brabant Limburg
  Utrecht Noord-Holland Zuid-Holland Zeeland
Portugal
  Norte Centro Lisboa e vale do Tejo Alentejo
  Algarve Açores Madeira
Sverige
  Stockholm Östra Mellansverige Småland med Öarna Sydsverige
  Västsverige Norra Mellansverige Mellersta Norrland Övre Norrland
United Kingdom
  North Yorkshire and Humberside East Midlands East Anglia
  South East (UK) South West (UK) West Midlands North West (UK)
  Wales Scotland Northern Ireland Gibraltar

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Target Community Legislative Reference
 
 
  Waste
 
  • Directive 2000/53/EC -"End of life vehicles" (18.09.00)
  •  
  • COM (1996) 399 final - Communication on an updated "Community strategy for waste management" (30. ...
  •  
  • Directive 1999/31/EC -"Landfill of waste" (26.04.99)
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    Read More
    Title: ECRIS - a research project in environmental car recycling
    Type of Documentation: Brochure
     
     
     
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    Project Administration
    Total Budget: 779,978.00 €  
    Life Contribution: 749,036.48 €  
    Year of Finance: 1999  
    Duration: 01-AUG-1999 to 31-MAR -2002  
    Commission
    Reference:
    LIFE99 ENV/S/000627  
     
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    Printed on 10/02/10 - 13:44:54