BASF, Sabic, Covestro, Clariant, LyondellBasell, Mitsubishi Chemical Group, and Solvay—founders of the Global Impact Coalition—are working with dismantling, shredding, and sorting companies to create a recycling network for plastics from old vehicles, so called end-of-life vehicles (ELVs).
A pilot project in the Netherlands and Germany will process plastics from 100 end-of-life vehicles by dismantling, shredding, and sorting them into 10 polymer types and vehicle parts. The sorted plastics will then be recycled using different technologies. The project aims to test and improve methods for dismantling, sorting, and recycling plastics on a large scale under real conditions and demonstrate the economic feasibility of large-scale closed-loop recycling systems. By uniting players from across the automotive value chain the companies hope to close the loop on plastics.
The pilot is expected to yield valuable data to guide broader industry adoption. Following its conclusion, the project will focus on scaling up efforts regionally in Europe and expanding to other key markets for ELV plastics recycling and production.
In 2020, the EU collected 1,009 tonnes of ELV plastics, but only 19% were recycled, with 41% being incinerated for energy recovery and 40% ending up in landfills. With over six million vehicles reaching the end of their life each year in Europe, millions of tonnes of valuable materials are lost to the economy annually.
The European Parliament is debating amendments to the new end-of-life vehicle directive. In early February, it voted to lower recycled plastic quotas in new cars, reducing the target from 25% to 20%, with only 15% (down from 25%) coming from old vehicles. The revisions also allow post-industrial and bio-based plastics to count toward these targets.
- Groundbreaking Automotive Plastics Circularity Pilot Launched, Press Release of Global Impact Coalition, February 18, 2025. (accessed February 18, 2025)
