There has been increasing pressure from environmentalists and legislators to increase the extent of recycling in the automotive industry. In 1997, the UK Government signed Accord, an agreement with the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the Motor Vehicles Dismantlers, the British Metals Federation, and other organisations, to increase vehicle recycling by 85% by 2005. It has become much easier to achieve this objective because of recent reductions in the numbers of materials used by cars. There are several other common recycling projects and initiatives by automotive companies in Europe. Ford began serious recycling in 1991, by opening its recyling research centre in Germany, and is also trying to make its vehicles more recyclable. Steel is still used more than any other materials in cars, but is almost 100% recyclable. Aluminium has the advantage that the energy needed to recycle it is only 5% of that needed for primary smelting. Magnesium is 100% recyclable and one third lighter than aluminium. However, there is not yet an adequate infrastructure for the difficult task of recycling plastic car parts, so that most of them end up in landfill. The author urges the Government to create a legal framework to encourage environmental improvements, and introduce proper systems to facilitate vehicle recycling.

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