ABSTRACT
In terms of both mass per unit and the total disposal volume, automobiles represent the single most important class of products that are disposed of by consumers. There are approximately 170 million automobiles currently on U.S. roads, and it is expected that a minimum of 8 million automobiles will be disposed of every year. It is estimated that currently about 4 million vehicles are processed each year by recyclers. The global upward trend in auto production volume has not yet shown any significant signs of leveling off, and as a result we can expect the auto disposal rate to continue to increase in the near future. As a consequence of these trends, the disassembly and recycling of automobiles is an area of significant interest in life cycle analysis. Fortunately, the disassembly and recycling of autos is relatively well evolved when compared to other product wastestreams. We find there are two primary reasons for this: there is a good market for reclaimed auto parts and components and over 60% by weight of an automobile is steel, a material that is highly amenable to recycling. As a testament to steel recycling, consider the fact that in 1998 the auto recy-cling industry generated enough recycled steel to manufacture 13 million new cars. Today typically, about 25% by weight of every new car is made of recycled steel. Even so, more than 24% of every disposed automobile does end up in a landfill site. Further, changes in material composition and stricter landfill regulations pose several new challenges to the auto disassembly and recycling industry.
