01The recycling needed for automotive parts

Plastics are lightweight and can be easily processed in complex shapes. Because of this, they are widely used in automobiles. From the perspective of reducing environmental impacts, there is accelerating movement in the automotive industry to strengthen regulations related to recycling and other resource circulation. In Europe especially, mandatory use of a certain percentage of recycled materials from plastic automotive parts (post-consumer recycled; PCR) is scheduled for 2031. To encourage plastic recycling from end-of-life (ELV) to new vehicles, the use of recycled materials from ELVs may also become mandatory.

■Plastic parts used in automobiles

*Made with reference to Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association’s “JAMA’s Efforts to Promote the Use of Recycled Plastic Material.”

02Plastic recycling method

There are three methods of plastic recycling: material recycling, thermal recycling, and chemical recycling. Material recycling is the reuse of end-of-life products as raw material. Compared with the manufacturing of products from new raw materials, the use of recycled raw materials has the advantage of fewer CO₂ emissions in manufacturing, and achieving a decarbonized society is becoming increasingly important. Disadvantages include that in many cases the physical properties of the recycled material deteriorate, and horizontal recycling in which end-of-life products are recycled in the same product remains a difficult challenge.

Promoting material recycling will be a big step toward achieving a sustainable recycling society, and so Toyoda Gosei is working hard to achieve material recycling.

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Types of material recycling

Material recycling can be broadly divided into three types.

The table can be scrolled left and right

Horizontal recycling	Downcycling	Upcycling
In horizontal recycling, end-of-life products are used as raw materials for the same product. They are circulated in a state where the purpose does not change before and after use.	A method in which material is recycled into products with lower required performance than the original product. This type of recycling is easy, and so much recycling is downcycling. However, quality deteriorates every time the material is recycled, limiting the number of times a material can be recycled. This is a disadvantage.	This is a method by which material to be discarded is modified and reborn in a new product. The material characteristics are leveraged in creating something of higher value. At Toyoda Gosei, scrap material from airbags and other products is upcycled under the ethical brand “Re-S.” Reference:Re-S official website

03Toyoda Gosei’s challenge:
To achieve “horizontal recycling” of plastic from end-of-life vehicles

In recycling plastic from end-of-life vehicles, sorting is difficult because of the many kinds of plastic used. These plastics have also been used for a long time, and there are huge variations in the quality of recycled material due to differences in the state of deterioration and the inclusion of paint and other impurities. Remaining odor from cigarette smoke or perfumes during use is another problem. All these things make recycling highly difficult.

Toyoda Gosei is working on horizontal recycling, in which plastic from end-of-life vehicles is recycled in equivalent parts in new vehicles. Developing new technologies to solve these problems has been achieved in collaboration with Isono Co., Ltd. Recycled plastics using these new technologies has made it possible to manufacture products with performance equal to that of new material while mixing 50% plastic (polypropylene) from end-of-life vehicles into new material. Automotive interior products (glove boxes, etc.) must be impact resistant, and have high quality standards. Our recycled plastic reached the practical level for the first time in the world¹ for places like this. Recycling also cuts by up to 40 percent the CO₂ emissions associated with the production of new plastic parts.²

Parts using this recycled plastic will first be installed in vehicles sold in Europe and then spread to other markets.

■Adopted products

04Arterial collaboration in the development of recycled materials

To promote recycling, cooperation is needed between “arterial industries” and “venous industries.” We achieved horizontal recycling was achieved with cooperation between arterial industry that manufactures and supplies new products, and venous industry that collects and reprocesses products from end-of-life vehicles.

05Toyoda Gosei technology

Toyoda Gosei has achieved recycled plastic with the same level of impact resistance and strength as new material. We have also dealt with the odor issue and achieved higher quality parts manufacturing.
Next, we introduce the process of making recycled plastic from recycled raw materials (Steps 1 and 2 in above diagram).

Step 1. Paint film removal technologyCollected bumpers have paint of various colors—red, blue, silver and more. Bumpers with these attached paints are finely crushed, and the paint film is detached and removed using special equipment that operates under the same principle as a rice milling machine. We were able to make this process practical by raising the efficiency of paint film removal with original equipment settings.

■Surface treatment of plastic pallets

Step 2. Material formulation technologyToyoda Gosei achieved performance equal to that of new material by combining formulation technology that adds the proper proportions of polypropylene and special blending agents to recycled material, and kneading technology that processes them with the best equipment.

06Expanding applicable parts

To increase the percentage of recycled plastic used in automobiles, we are applying it to other vehicle models and automotive parts. Up to this time recycled material has been limited to parts where aesthetics is less important. Going forward, we will expand recycled plastics to parts where aesthetics is key, and seek to expand the diversity of parts and improve quality.
To ensure recycled raw materials, we also aim to recycle non-automotive plastic parts in automotive parts.
To achieve this, Toyoda Gosei actively participates in national projects and is accelerating technical innovation and strengthening collaborative networks with other companies and organizations. We will contribute to the achievement of a sustainable society by effectively using limited resources and reducing CO₂ through a circular economy.

■Products adopted at this time (yellow) and products that will be increasingly used in the future (green)