American Recycler MAR 2024 / by MAURA KELLER / Read original article
Within the traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) auto recycling industry, the training required to properly dismantle vehicles is expansive as recyclers need to be continually trained about new technological advances in today’s high-tech vehicles. When it comes to recycling electric vehicles (EVs), the required training is far more extensive as properly handing lithium ion batteries and other key elements within the EV platform can mean the difference between life and death.
According to Rob Dillan, founder of EVhype.com, an EV charging station portal and social network, the regulations facing the EV recycling industry are extremely diverse as regulations concerning end-of-life EVs vary significantly across jurisdictions.
In the EU, for example, the End-of-Life Vehicles Directive mandates the recycling of at least 85 percent (by weight) of the vehicle, including battery components. The U.S. follows a more decentralized approach, with guidelines varying by state, focusing on safe handling and disposal of hazardous materials.
“The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) provides guidelines, such as ISO 22628, detailing recycling and material recovery rates, which serve as a benchmark for recyclers worldwide,” Dillan said. Specifically, the ISP specifies a means of calculating the recyclability rate and the recoverability rate of new vehicles – both ICE and EVs – identified as a mass fraction of the vehicle.
And while the U.S. has no federal or state laws or policies requiring EV battery recycling, California is developing a policy that would increase EV battery recycling in the state, becoming the first with lithium-ion U.S. battery recycling regulations, including looking at putting the responsibility of EV battery recycling on producers.
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