Recycling Management. Passionate about recycling

Transcription

1 Recycling Management Passionate about recycling

2 We put end-of-life tyres... 8,101 tonnes of tyres were recycled in back on the road End-of-life tyres are reprocessed for use as a road-surfacing material

3 We aspire to improve the environmental compatibility of cars throughout their lifecycles. Contents Environmentally responsible processes 6 Environmentally responsible product development 8 Environmentally friendly production 10 Environmentally focused sales and service 12 Turning old into new 14 How end-of-life tyres are transformed into new products 16 New values from well over 30,000,000 kg of waste 18 Use of recycled materials 20 Use of recycled materials in vehicles 22 Recycling 24 Every end is a new beginning 26

4 Environmentally responsible process Environmentally responsible product development Environmentally friendly production Environmentally focused sales and service

5 Environmentally responsible product development Design for Environment The journey towards meeting this aspiration begins when new vehicles are developed. The guiding principle of Design for Environment (DfE) is applied to the development of allencompassing vehicle concepts, with the aim of improving environmental compatibility in a way that can be objectively measured. The process is fully compliant with the international standards relating to the integration of environmental aspects into product design and development: ISO and ISO/TR The results are documented in the approved environmental certificates for the Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Back in 2005, the S-Class became the first vehicle ever to be certified by the independent assessors from the TÜV Süd technical inspection association. 8 Environmentally responsible process 9

6 Environmentally friendly production Reduced CO 2 emissions Vehicles are manufactured at the company s production sites under an environmental management system according to the European eco-audit regulations or the internationally applicable ISO standard for environmental management systems. The use of state-of-the-art technologies such as water-based paints and waterbased fillers reduces solvent emissions, while continuous process improvements help us to save energy. This is all part of our objective of reducing the CO 2 emissions of our European production plants by 20 % in the period 1990 to 2020, while at the same time boosting our production volumes. 10 Environmentally responsible process 11

7 Environmentally focused sales and service MeRSy Recycling Management Also in sales and after-sales high environmental standards are embedded in dedicated environmental management systems. All services are delivered in such a way as to reduce the impact on the environment, to conserve resources and to keep our customers satisfied. The recycling of waste accumulated at workshops during the maintenance and repair of our vehicles is organised through a takeback system that has been developed in-house. The MeRSy Recycling Management system introduced back in 1993 provided an early foundation for the development of more advanced recycling concepts. In line with our awareness of our product responsibility, the scope of these concepts includes vehicle-specific waste, packaging materials and used parts. There are now more than 30 subsections, including tyres, car batteries, catalytic converters, coolant/brake fluid, aerosols, electronic scrap and plastic parts. The recycling of materials takes precedence over the recovery of energy. 12 Environmentally responsible process 13

8 Turning old into new How end-of-life tyres are transformed into new products New values from well over 30,000,000 kg of waste

9 How end-of-life tyres are transformed into new products Secondary raw materials put to versatile use This is also the case for end-of-life tyres, the vast majority of which are reprocessed at specialist recycling facilities. A tyre is made of rubber, steel and a textile element. The process begins with them being washed, after which they are cut up and ultimately reduced to fine granules in a shredder. Magnets, sieves and air separation techniques are used to separate the various components from one another. The secondary raw materials that result from this process can be used in a variety of ways. The textile residues, for example, are often used in insulation. The steel, once freed of impurities and melted down, can be used again as newquality material. The category most frequently encountered on an everyday basis is that comprising rubber elements. These are used in the construction of sports grounds and playgrounds, mixed with asphalt, or can be found in plastic containers and rubber seals. 16 Turning old into new 17

10 New values from well over 30,000,000 kg of waste This is the amount of waste that is generated each year in Mercedes-Benz automotive workshops in Germany alone. It does not include end-of-life vehicles destined for dismantling. On the next page, you can see an overview of how we recycle that waste. Turning old... Quantity recycled in into new Tyres 8,101 metric tonnes 55 % recycling of materials: granulate - Road construction (porous asphalt) - Playgrounds/noise protecting mats 45 % energy recovery: cement industry Batteries Acid Housing Lead 3,417 metric tonnes Used for lead smelting Headlamp housings, Wheel trims Batteries Brake pads 1,045 metric tonnes Brake pads Brake fluid 655 metric tonnes Brake fluid Glass panes 2,325 metric tonnes Industrial glass, glass wool insulation Catalytic converters 306 metric tonnes Precious metals Steel Catalytic converters Steel Coolant 1,043 metric tonnes Coolant Large plastic parts 966 metric tonnes Bumper brackets and internal parts Spare wheel well Cable duct covers Longitudinal member panels Mixed plastics 754 metric tonnes Substitute fuel in the cement industry Aerosols Metal Propellant Residual content 103 metric tonnes Used in the metal industry Reprocessing Energy recovery Turning old into new 19

11 Use of recycled materials Use of recycled materials in vehicles

12 Use of recycled materials in vehicles MeRSy Recycling Management One of our objectives is to continue gradually increasing the proportion of recycled materials used in new Mercedes models. Investigations conducted in parallel with the development process focus primarily on thermoplastic polymers. Unlike with steel and iron materials, where the original material already includes an element of a secondary material, applications involving plastic require separate testing and approval of the material concerned for each specific component. This ensures that the quality and function requirements for the part concerned are met with recycled materials to exactly the same standard as with comparable new materials. For the base version of the new E-Class, which was launched in 2015, it is possible to produce a total of 72 components, with a total weight of 54.4 kg, with a proportion of high-quality recycled plastics. This corresponds to an increase of 30 % in the number of parts approved for production using recycled materials compared with the previous model. Typical applications include wheel arch linings, cable ducts and underbody panelling, all of which are made primarily out of the synthetic material polypropylene. A further objective is to obtain the recycled materials as far as possible from vehicle-related waste streams, so bringing the process full circle. With this in mind, established processes are also used for the E-Class. The wheel arch linings, for example, are produced using a recycled material derived from reprocessed starter batteries and bumper coverings. 22 Use of recycled materials 23

13 Recycling Every end is a new beginning

14 Every end is a new beginning Simple disposal of end-of-life vehicle Mercedes-Benz also fosters a long tradition of straightforward reuse. The quality-certified parts available from the Mercedes-Benz Used Parts Centre (Mercedes-Benz Gebrauchtteile Center GmbH) have made it an established part of the Mercedes-Benz brand's service and parts business since It makes an important contribution to ensuring that the cost of repairs is commensurate with the vehicle s market value. Even if the long service life of Mercedes passenger cars makes this seem a distant requirement, Mercedes-Benz offers an innovative way of disposing of vehicles quickly, free of charge and in an environmentally compatible manner. A close-coverage network of collection facilities and dismantlers has been established to make disposal of a vehicle a straightforward process for our customers. Owners of older vehicles can call the freephone number for information and will be given prompt advice on all important details relating to the take-back of their vehicle. 26 Recycling 27

15 Exhausted energy... 3,417 tonnes of batteries were recycled in is revitalised Waste batteries are turned into new headlamp housings

16 To help us produce our vehicles with even more focus on the environment, we are keen to invest in innovative materials. Renewable raw materials and recycled materials are becoming an increasingly important part of this approach.

17 Please note: this brochure provides information about MeRSy Recycling Management. All details correct as of July Changes may have been made to the processes described since this brochure went to press. Daimler AG, MBVD/QUM, HPC V550, Berlin