Life-cycle greenhouse gas and value chain of end-of-life vehicle management in Thailand

Abstract

The management of many products during their end-of-life stage has not been addressed fully in Thailand. Today, the owners of dismantling facilities and car repair shops are managing end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) increasingly. This ELV market system involves recovering ELVs’ valuable materials and components. At present, information on ELVs’ current status is limited, and this lack of information will lead eventually to managing ELVs improperly. This paper presents an overview of the current status of ELV management in Thailand and proposes an appropriate way to improve it. The objectives of this study are to: (1) estimate the number and distribution of passenger cars (four wheels, but less than seven seats); (2) understand ELV stakeholders’ geographic locations to show the scarcity of ELV hotspots, dismantlers, and recycling industry facilities;(3) study the life cycle of greenhouse gas emissions (LCA GHGs) and the value chain in ELV management; and (4) provide recommendations for an ELV management policy. Field data were collected from key stakeholders in the supply chain. The results showed that a significant number of ELVs are discarded annually, and very few ELVs were sent to recycling facilities. ELVs’ LCA GHGs were estimated to be 540.9–1344 kg CO2e/car. In addition, the value added in ELV management could be in the range of 58–92 million THB million a year (USD 1.7–2.8 million) if these ELV parts are recycled, and recycling ELVs could reduce CO2e emissions by 92,767–159,952 tons.