The Global Impact Coalition (GIC) has announced the launch of its Automotive Plastics Circularity pilot. The CEO-led collaborative platform, along with leaders from the chemical and recycling industries (BASF, Covestro, LyondellBasell, Mitsubishi Chemical Group, SABIC, SUEZ, and Syensqo) hope to address the challenges associated with recycling plastics from end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) through the initiative.
Global Impact Coalition
Global Impact Coalition launches the Automotive Plastics Circularity pilot.
Over 800 million metric tons of ELC plastics in the EU are incinerated or dumped in landfills every year. The Automotive Plastics Circularity pilot hopes to transform this waste into valuable resources, aiding the automotive industry to increase the rate of closed-loop recycled plastics.
“This collaboration represents a turning point for the industry,” said Charlie Tan, CEO of the Global Impact Coalition. “Recycling ELV plastics has long been a challenge, with less than 20% of these materials recycled today. By uniting players from across the automotive value chain—from automakers to dismantlers, sorters, recyclers and the chemical industry—we are connecting the links to close the loop on plastics.”
About the Automotive Plastics Circularity pilot
Germany and the Netherlands were selected for the pilot’s first locations. The project will see plastic clusters from 100 vehicles at the end of their lives dismantled, shredded, and sorted into 10 types of polymers and automotive parts.
Once sorted these plastic fractions will be recycled with help from the collaborating companies, utilising their technologies. With its focus on bulk aggregation, the pilot will test and optimise a new approach to the dismantling, sorting, and recycling of plastic fractions, in real-world conditions.
The pilot’s partners have organised dismantlers, shredding companies, and sorting facilities to help create a robust and interconnected network. By combining the demand for various ELV polymers, the pilot hopes to demonstrate the economic feasibility of large-scale closed-loop recycling systems.
“Automotive sustainability hinges on addressing materials that have long been overlooked,” said Yves Rannou, Co-CEO of SUEZ & Chief Operating Officer of Recycling & Recovery. “Recycling ELV plastics isn’t just a technical challenge—it’s a chance to redefine how we view waste as a resource and ensure we can make it economically sustainable for each party involved. This pilot is the beginning of a transformative journey for the entire automotive and plastics value chain.”
The pilot’s end goal
The Automotive Plastics Circularity project aligns with multiple regulatory frameworks. This includes the EU’s proposed ELV regulations, which currently mandate that 25% of plastics in new cars must be from recycled materials, with 25% of those derived from closed-loop recycling, by 2030. The pilot hopes to prove these solutions can achieve these targets, leading to a reduced reliance on landfill and incineration.
“The goal of this pilot is to move beyond theoretical discussions and test real-world solutions for ELV plastics recycling. By focusing on advanced sorting and recycling technologies, we aim to prove that high-quality, closed-loop systems are not only possible but scalable for global impact,” concluded Dr Lars Kissau, President of Net Zero Accelerator at BASF.
In the future, the project will focus on scaling up efforts regionally throughout Europe. Additionally, there are plans to expand to other key markets for ELV plastics recycling and production.