The effect of changing patterns of materials consumption on the recycling of cars and domestic appliances in the U.K.

Abstract

The pattern of materials use in the manufacture of vehicles and domestic appliances is changing. Steel is still the major material used in these industries but there has been a gradual increase in the use of other materials. In the car industry in particular there is a strong incentive to use lighter, more energy-efficient materials. Plastics, aluminium and low-alloy steels are all expected to increase at the expense of conventional mild steel. The extent to which these changes will occur is still not clear, but the impact on the reclamation industry by the end of the century could be substantial. The proportion of steel in the product stream from fragmentiser plants could fall from 75 to 35%, while aluminium alloys and polymers might increase to 25–30%. The prospect for the reclamation industry is for higher value products, but improved sorting procedures for aluminium alloys will be required. The disposal of polymers and other miscellaneous materials will pose an increasingly difficult problem for the industry in the future.