Systematic Design for Recycling Approach – Automotive Exterior Plastics
Elias Hallack, Nestor Mario Peris, Mattias Lindahl, Erik Sundin
Abstract
Car components are getting more advanced when meeting customer requirements. At the same time, the requirements of having cars that are easily dismantled and recycled also increase. At Volvo Cars, there is a need to have car components adapted to ease disassembly, where one example is exterior plastic components. However, end-of-life processes of car dismantling are seldom thought of when designing exterior plastic components. Therefore, this paper aims to develop a systematic design approach to support the Design for Recycling of exterior plastic components from an end-of-life perspective. We investigated challenges, factors, and practices that affect the recycling of the cars’ exterior plastic components. In addition, we studied end-of-life and eco-design tools that are used in industry and meet the requirements established by Volvo Cars. This was then used to develop a systematic design approach to support Design for Recycling. It encompasses three steps: 1) checking the investigated component against the identified end-of-life practices (helps to identify problems and generates solutions for design improvements ), 2) comparing the generated design improvements in terms of the environmental aspect (contributes to environmentally-driven decisions), and 3) evaluating the economic recycling benefits of the design improvements. The approach can be used within the automotive industry to improve the Design for Recycling of exterior plastic components and contribute to achieving a more circular economy.