The Automobile Recycling Act that was enforced in 2005 was imposed on automobile manufacturers in order to recover and recycle three items : ASR, CFCs & HFCs, and airbags. Car owners pay the costs for this at the time of purchase, while the existing infrastructure, which employs services such as dismantlers, is still in place.
Since five years passed after the enforcement of the act, the review of the implementation has been conducted in a joint meeting of the Central Environment Council and the Industrial Structure Council. This paper introduces the final report of this joint meeting and provides an overview regarding the future direction of the Act.

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Many countries have recently enacted a recycling law based on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), a fast growing trend in the world today. For example, Japan enforced the End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) Recycling Law in 2005. Similarly, in Korea from the year 2009, an ELV recycling system that places a greater responsibility for recycling on the producer has been implemented. In addition, auto manufacturers must offer gratis recovery when the recycling cost exceeds the ELV price. Compared to the system seen in Japanese, which manages only air bags, Freon gas and ASR, Korea has a much stricter system. However, the Korean side has not been managed smoothly due to delays in the building of infrastructure and the existence of a hostile monitoring system.
On a macro-perspective, the ELV recycling systems in both Japan and Korea have influenced Asian nations. For example, China is currently trying to build an independent ELV recycling system patterned after the systems being used in Japan and Korea. China′s framework-oriented policy, known as Technical Policy of Automotive Products Recovery, is lacking in operability for guiding auto manufacturers, dismantlers and recycling companies to carry out automotive recycling activities. This is because there is a great difference between China and Japan in the level of environmental consciousness, innovative automobile design, waste reduction programs for used parts, remanufacturing and ELV recycling technology. Likewise, there are observed gaps between the different regions in China, so it is essential that appropriate incentives and policies be introduced to guide and promote the development of the local automotive recycling system based on each local situation. On a larger scale, ELV is a pressing issue in Asia and around the world and the new direction in this field must lead to formation of partnerships and cooperation, not just for Asia but also on a global level.

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This work focuses on end-of-life vehicles being traded internationally for reuse or recycling. End-of-life vehicles are comprised of a large range of metal types that can be identified as artificial ores with high resource potentials. It is important to take into consideration the recycling system for evaluating the resource potential of traded end-of-life vehicles when designing new automobiles. In this paper, we give an overview of global resource cycles in end-of-life vehicle trade and discuss the future of automobile recycling systems.

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In this paper, recycling frameworks for end-of-life vehicles (ELV) are discussed in relation to physicochemical properties of Automobile Shredder Residue (ASR) and, resource potentials and hazardous characteristics of automobile materials. Lead concentration in ASR is estimated to be at about 1,000-2,000mg/kg, figures that have not changed since the 1990s. Industries have been actively trying countermeasures to reduce the usage of lead for over 10 years now, and the effects of these efforts must now be exammed. Proper destruction of PCBs and brominated flame retardants in ASR is also essential. The RoHS system, which restricts the use of certain hazardous substances in waste electrical and electronic equipment and ELV directive, are likely to be introduced in Asia. It is desirable that Japan also introduce a similar system in order to develop a global synchronization of recycling policies.

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This is a case study on the voluntary, industry-based Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program. This used motorcycle recycling program, based on EPR concepts, was launched in October 2004 in Japan. In light of the enactment of the Recycling of End-of-Life Vehicles Law, a discussion emerged about whether recycling obligations would also be imposed on motorcycle manufactures and importers. For various reasons, however, the motorcycle was excluded from the law. The first reason is that the motorcycle vehicle registration system is different from that for the automobile. Secondly, the product structure of a motor cycle is also different from that of the automobile (i.e. there is no installation of air-conditioners or air-bags). Although this obligation to recycle was not imposed on motorcycle manufacturers and importers by law, a total of 16 companies worked together to develop a voluntary recycling system. This paper introduces the features of this system and discusses the issues that remain to be solved in order to obtain the full benefits of EPR. The real results can only be understood after 2011 when used motorcycles will be collected by the producers without any cost to the last holder. The paper also looks at a study on whether Design for Environment (DfE) can be encouraged with EPR.

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The 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) concept has been promoted with the aim of preserving natural resources, reducing the amount of waste that is disposed of and reducing green house gases. This paper clarifies the relationship between The 3Rs concept and these three aims by using a simple model developed for recycling systems. Based on this model, we estimated the amount that green house gases were reduced through the practice of recycling major materials, such as steel, aluminum and plastics. We also showed that there has already been a significant amount of reduction in CO₂ emissions due to the recycling of certain materials. The paper goes on to indicate several measures that need to be taken in order to further reduce green house gases through the promotion of The 3Rs.

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