Bumper Crop: Mazda Harvests Organs Of Old Cars

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Old cars, euphemistically known as “end-of-life vehicles” or ELVs are turning into a menace. It’s because of the increased used of new materials, also known as plastics. Whereas the scrap of older cars was welcome fodder for the furnaces of steel and cast iron makers around the world, the plastic piles up on landfills, or is burned. Mazda says it has “become the world’s first automaker to successfully recycle scrapped bumpers from end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) into raw material for new vehicle bumpers.”

The new technology was inaugurated on August 21, 2011 and is initially being used to make rear bumpers for the Mazda Biante minivan. Before, if ELV bumpers didn’t land on landfills, they were processed into automobile shredder residue (ASR) and incinerated to recover heat energy, a process equally euphemistically called “thermal recycling.”

Mazda got into the bumper recycling business when it began processing damaged bumpers collected from in-use vehicles through its dealer network in Japan. In the 1990s,Mazda began designing bumpers to be easily recyclable. Now finally, the cost of recycling is less than the cost of purchasing new plastic. Bumpers make the biggest part of the automobile shredder residue.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Bolhuijo Bolhuijo on Aug 25, 2011

    Entire bumper covers as pictured are commonly found along the road here in the SF bay area. Is there a bounty on 'em?

  • Morea Morea on Aug 25, 2011

    Mr Schmitt, a clarification please. Does the Mazda press release specifically say that the polymers will be recycled into new bumpers, or just that the polymer will be recycled? Injection molding of polyethylene to make bumpers is somewhat tricky and best done with virgin PE with a carefully controlled molecular mass distribution and well controlled additive concentrations. Recycled polymer does not have these characteristics. Typically, polyolefins are downgraded to things like carpet or upholstery fibers, or park benches, when they are recycled. If they are making new bumpers our of old bumpers that is significant and not just a greenwashing press release.

    • See 2 previous
    • Type57SC Type57SC on Aug 28, 2011

      As long as they sorted the TPO, TPU and RIM fascias, and stick with the painted ones they should be alright with about 5% regrind from the non-painted pellets.

  • The Oracle Well, we’re 3-4 years in with the Telluride and right around the time the long term durability issues start to really take hold. This is sad.
  • CoastieLenn No idea why, but nothing about a 4Runner excites me post-2004. To me, they're peak "try-hard", even above the Wrangler and Gladiator.
  • AZFelix A well earned anniversary.Can they also attend to the Mach-E?
  • Jalop1991 The intermediate shaft and right front driveshaft may not be fully engaged due to suspected improper assembly by the supplier. Over time, partial engagement can cause damage to the intermediate shaft splines. Damaged shaft splines may result in unintended vehicle movement while in Park if the parking brake is not engagedGee, my Chrysler van automatically engages the parking brake when we put it in Park. Do you mean to tell me that the idjits at Kia, and the idjit buyers, couldn't figure out wanting this in THEIR MOST EXPENSIVE VEHICLE????
  • Dukeisduke I've been waiting to see if they were going to do something special for the 60th Anniversary. I was four years old when the Mustang was introduced. I can remember that one of our neighbors bought a '65 coupe (they were all titled as '65 models, even the '64-1/2 cars), and it's the first one I can remember seeing. In the '90s I knew an older gentleman that owned a '64-1/2 model coupe with the 260 V8.
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