Composites for recyclability

Abstract

Environmental legislation, consumer concern, and waste management approaches based on concepts like the 'polluter pays' are all increasing the pressure on manufacturers of materials and end-products to consider the environmental impact of their products at all stages of their life cycle -including ultimate disposal, a 'cradle to grave' approach.At this moment, 'designing for recycling' or 'eco-design' is becoming a philosophy that is applied to more and more materials and products.Recycling must be an important part of our daily lives if we are to preserve the natural resources of our planet.The automotive industry, in particular, is now trying to make every component recyclable because of a new European Union (EU) directive on the end-of-life of vehicles (ELV).This states that by 2015 vehicles must be made of 95% recyclable materials, of which 85% can be recovered through reuse or mechanical recycling and 10% through energy recovery or thermal recycling.The ELV Directive (2000/53/EC) came into force in October 2000 and all member states were required to transpose the directive into national law by April 2002.The directive aims to reduce the amount of waste from vehicles (automobiles and vans) and includes requirements for member states to introduce strict standards for the treatment of ELVs at authorized treatment facilities.Polymers are a material of this century and have enjoyed an enormous growth since the 1960s.Notably, in the automotive industry polymers are currently used to make parts such as body panels, underbody structures, dashboards, by Ton Peijs Composites for recyclability