Current status and future perspectives in end-of-life vehicle recycling in Japan

In the late 1990s, an increase in automobile shredder residue (ASR) weighed down the remaining capacity of waste landfill sites in Japan. Furthermore, an increase in landfill costs and a downturn in the ferrous scrap price made the existing end-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycling system malfunction, and there was concern about the inappropriate treatment of ELVs. Consequently, the ELV Recycling Act was enacted in 2005, and currently, 3–4 million ELVs are recycled each year. Under the ELV Recycling Act, vehicle manufacturers and importers have obligations regarding the destruction of fluorocarbons, the recycling of gas generators and the recycling and energy recovery of ASR, using the recycling fee paid by vehicle owners when they purchase a new vehicle. In the fiscal year 2011, the recycling and energy recovery rate of ASR and its equivalent was 93.3 %, which results in approximately 99 % of ELVs being reused, recycled and recovered. Thanks to the prepayment of the recycling fee, the illegal dumping and inappropriate storage of ELVs has decreased significantly by 96 % compared to the levels before the enforcement. Several challenges for future improvements of the recycling system and efforts for vehicles affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake are explained.