Management Assessment of used Oil, Filters, and containers in the Canadian automotive sector using resource recovery metrics

Abstract

• Used oil, filters, and containers management are assessed in 4 Canadian provinces. • Two original indicators on resource recovery are proposed for the automotive sector. • A disparity between rising vehicle count and recovery amount is observed. • Regions with lower expenses per vehicle have higher profit margin and collection rate. • Targeted strategies towards automobile industry may improve collection rate. The efficiency of the resource recovery system in the automobile industry is not well understood. The effectiveness of resources recovery for used oil, filters and containers in four Canadian provinces were assessed from 2010 to 2022. The collection rates of resources, financial performance, and temporal changes of two original indicators: Resource Recovery Per Vehicle (RRPV), and Expenses Per Vehicle (EXPV) were examined. British Columbia and Quebec had the highest collection rates of used oil, filters, and containers (mean ranging 83.0 to 92.9 %). Despite having lowest mean collection rate of used oil (71.0 %) and filters (78.7 %), Saskatchewan has significant RRPV for used oil (20.4 L) and filters (2.12 units). Decreasing RRPV (−0.01 to −0.38) trends were identified in all jurisdictions, suggesting the need for targeted recovery strategies towards automotive sectors. A mild increasing trend of EXPV in all jurisdictions is observed (slope + 0.02 to + 0.08). Quebec exhibited the most cost-efficient resource recovery, with EXPV ranging from $2.4 to $3.3 per unit vehicle. Profit margin analysis revealed consistently high margins of 8.6 % in Quebec, contrasting with Manitoba’s lower 1.3 %. The lower profit margin may partly be due to higher administrative costs (16.1 %). The findings highlight the potential benefits of the proposed RRPV and EXPV indicators in evaluating management systems for used oil, filters, and containers.

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