Automobiles

End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling Law

The Law for Recycling End-of-Life Vehicles (End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling Law), enacted in January 2005, is intended to promote environmental conservation and the effective use of resources through measures to ensure the responsible and efficient recycling of end-of-life vehicles. Under the law, automakers are obliged to collect and properly dispose of the following three items:
• CFCs, which are used as air conditioner refrigerants and would destroy the ozone layer and contribute to global warming if emitted into the air;
• airbags, which are difficult to dispose of because of their explosive nature;
• and automobile shredder residue (ASR), what remains after useful materials from end-of-life vehicles are collected. To comply with this law as a responsible automaker, Honda is enhancing its recycling measures for the entire lifecycle of its automobiles, from development (using designs for recycling) to disposal (as end-of-life vehicles). These measures include the establishment of a recycling system with the goal of attaining a 95 percent recycling rate by 2015.

• Flow under the End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling Law

Recycling Fees

Honda has structured its recycling fees in such a way that the cost of properly disposing and recycling its products will be covered while the cost to customers is minimized. We have maintained the low recycling fees that we charge owners of new models released in fiscal 2005 while ensuring the proper disposal of these vehicles at the end of their lives. These low-level fees were attained by improved efficiency in transporting and recycling end-of-life vehicles.

Recycling of CFCs, airbags and ASR

• CFCs

For CFCs contained in automobile air conditioners, we have established a system of proper disposal with no air emissions. We are implementing this system and outsourcing the CFC recovery, transportation, and destruction processes to Japan Auto Recycling Partnership. In fiscal 2005, CFCs were properly disposed of by the Japan Auto Recycling Partnership, and costs were cut thanks to more efficient CFC transportation and destruction methods.

• Airbags

It is necessary to properly recycle inflators for airbags, safety equipment used in automobiles. There are two recycling methods: (1) removing the inflators from the module and recycling them at designated facilities; and (2) deploying the airbags inside end-of-life vehicles and then recycling the inflators.
Each dismantling company chooses which method to adopt, but we encouraged all of them to deploy airbags inside end-of-life vehicles for recycling. As a result, approximately 76 percent of all airbags were deployed inside end-of-life vehicles. We will continue to promote this method in cooperation with dismantling companies while developing tools and equipment required for the method.
Some airbags* require special consideration when selecting the method of their disposal, but we are able to properly dispose of these airbags thanks to the support of dismantling companies.
Also, for models released in the market beginning in 1998, we have applied a system of simultaneous deployment of all airbags in a vehicle, as opposed to deploying them one by one. Almost all Honda vehicles are now equipped with this system, which greatly reduces the burden on dismantling companies. We are promoting the airbag and inflator collection and recycling processes in cooperation with Japan Auto Recycling Partnership and outsourcing these processes to this organization.
* SRS unit-integrated airbags

• Automobile shredder residue (ASR)

End-of-life vehicles are dismantled and then shredded by shredding equipment. Scrap metal is removed from the shredded pieces, and the remains are left as automobile shredder residue (ASR). Automobile makers are now accepting and recycling ASR. For the efficient and reliable recycling of ASR, Honda has formed the TH Team with Toyota Motor Corporation;
Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd.; and Hino Motors, Ltd.
The End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling Law provides for a phase-in of the requirements for ASR recycling (a recycling rate of 30 percent by 2005, 50 percent by 2010, and 70 percent by 2015), and Honda will implement measures to comply with these criteria before regulatory deadlines.
Despite a number of equipment failures at recycling facilities, we were able to successfully recycle ASR through efforts by the TH Team (ASR Recycling Division of Toyotsu Recycling Co., Ltd.) to properly respond to and correct these failures.
Additionally, we established a full recycling method¹ for more than 10 percent of the end-of-life vehicles to be disposed of, and started using new recycling facilties², thereby achieving an ASR recycling rate that far exceeds the legally stipulated rate of 30 percent.

Achievements in Fiscal 2005

For the past year, since the End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling Law was enacted (January 1 2005), the Japanese automobile industry has successfully complied with the law in general. In fiscal 2005, the industry as a whole recycled 3.05 million end-of-life vehicles. Honda, according to available data, accepted and delivered approximately 260,000 end-of-life vehicles destined for the shredding process, which is the final disposal process for end-of-life vehicles.
Prior to fiscal 2005, the average service life of an automobile was approximately 11 years, but that estimate was extended to 12–13 years in fiscal 2005.
Air conditioner and airbag installation rates for Honda automobiles have been increasing rapidly since the first half of the 1990s, reaching a significant turning point in 1992. The rates before and after this year differ greatly. In fiscal 2005, because of the extended service life of vehicles, the number of end-of-life vehicles that require the disposal of CFCs and airbags decreased.

Recycling Results in Fiscal 2005

• CFCs

From April 2005 to March 2006, we recovered 64,552kg of CFCs from 202,842 end-of-life vehicles. Of this amount, CFC accounted for 47 percent and HFC for 53 percent of total CFC recovered. In addition, we received ¥423,939,280 in deposits from customers for the recycling of CFCs.
We spent a total of ¥445,389,475 on recycling, which includes in-house cost, recording a deficit of ¥21,450,195, or approximately ¥106 per vehicle.

• Airbags

Among the end-of-life vehicles disposed in the period from April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006, 50,127 vehicles were equipped with airbags, and airbags from 38,326 units (76.5 percent of these vehicles) , were deployed before being removed from the vehicle.
Also, we recovered 95,422 inflators. Given the number of end-of-life vehicles equipped with airbags (50,127), the average number of inflators equipped per vehicle was 1.9.
The number of inflators recovered at designated collection sites totaled 18,569 units, 8,485kg of which were sent to recycling facilities. Of this total, 7,933 kg were recycled, resulting in a recycling rate of 93.5 percent. We thus exceeded the recycling level of at least 85% as stipulated by law.
We received ¥87,113,120 in deposits for recycling airbags and spent a total of ¥112,578,947, thus recording a deficit of ¥25,465,827, or approximately ¥508 per vehicle.

• Automobile shredder residue (ASR)

We accepted and delivered 261,649 end-of-life vehicles destined for the shredding process and accepted 38,779 tons of shredder residue from 229,247 vehicles. Of this amount, 24,613 tons of residue were delivered to recycling facilities, where 21,627 tons were actually recycled. The ASR recycling rate of 59.6 percent included the weight equivalent of ASR that would have been generated from dismantling automobiles using the full recycling method. We have thus far exceeded the recycling rate of 30 percent stipulated by law for the period from fiscal 2005 to fiscal 2009.
We received ¥1,518,313,530 in deposits from customers for recycling ASR and spent a total of ¥1,468,455,387 on recycling, which includes in-house cost, recording a surplus of ¥49,858,143, or approximately ¥191 per vehicle.

• Total deposit and cost for recycling of CFCs, airbags and ASR

In fiscal 2005, we received a total of ¥2,029,365,930 to recycle CFCs, airbags and ASR and incurred recycling costs totaling ¥2,026,423,809, including in-house cost. We thus recorded a surplus of ¥2,942,121 for fiscal 2005. This was due mainly to a decrease in the number of end-of-life vehicles that require the disposal of CFCs and airbags, as mentioned above.