Recycling Automotive Plastics in China

Automobile ownership in China reached approximately 95 million by the end of 2010. About 4.8 million vehicles were scrapped during that same year, generating 480,000 tons of plastics. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China enacted the 'Automotive Products Recycling Technology Policy' in 2006 to deal with the ever increasing amount of difficult-to-recycle plastic materials present in vehicles. In one example, at the Shanghai East China Vehicle Dismantling Co., Ltd., workers dismantle the polyurethane (PUR) foam seat by hand and send it to PUR-recycling companies for free. These companies also collect all kinds of PUR foam waste, including mattresses and sofas. Without undergoing any cleaning process, the PUR foam is shredded, and PUR glue (FUD-101) is added. Then the mixture is pressed and cut to fit the customers' preferences for sale.