100 percent recyclable material helps meet End-of-Life Vehicle targets at 2015

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An independent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has confirmed that ARPRO
components will help OEMs meet the forthcoming End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV)
targets. The efficient recycling of non-metallic parts will be crucial
in helping manufacturers meet the ELV Regulations, and in 2015 the
re-use and recovery targets will increase from 85 percent to 95 percent
by weight of vehicle.

 

"As a 100 percent recyclable material, there is a clear ELV benefit for
products manufactured from ARPRO when they reach the end of their useful
life, and after conducting a cradle to grave analysis we can demonstrate
that ARPRO delivers a quantifiable and significant environmental benefit
in use," explains Paul Compton, JSP's Executive Vice President and Chief
Operating Officer - Europe. 

 

ARPRO provides such a range of engineering and environmental properties
that it can replace combinations of traditional component materials to
become a mono-material component, like the seats used as a basis for the
LCA report. Such systems are gaining in popularity due to ease of
classification when at end of life. 

 

Commissioned by JSP, the independent report calculated the environmental
impact of producing a complete seat core through its lifecycle, with the
final "end-of-life" environmental impact being insignificant relative to
other life cycle stages, even at disposal.

 

Introduced in 2005, the ELV regulation asks that producers should
increasingly take responsibility for their products once they become
waste and ensure that vehicles are increasingly designed for recycling.

 

"The LCA report illustrated how an ARPRO mono-material seat base can
save weight and ease sortation at the end of the products life,"
continues Compton. "To promote further use of the product and increase
understanding of its environmental benefits, JSP has been pro-active in
expediting a full life cycle assessment report for ARPRO. Despite the
focus of the automotive industry, few suppliers have taken such steps."