European Union Issues Temporary Agreement on End-of-Life Vehicle Regulation: Chemical Recycling Recognized, Biobased Materials Under Evaluation

Recently, the European Parliament and the EU Council reached a provisional agreement on the End-of-Life Vehicle Regulation (ELVR). The details of the regulation have been officially published. The regulation aims to promote the use of more recycled plastic in new vehicles and introduce design requirements for new vehicles. If approved by the European Parliament plenary session and the EU Council, the agreement will officially become law. The provisional agreement was supported in a vote by the relevant committee of the European Parliament on February 25.

According to the agreement, the new regulations mainly include the following points:

• Using the mass balance calculation method, plastics produced through chemical recycling processes will be recognized and counted towards the recycled plastic content goal.

• Only post-consumer sourced materials are allowed to count toward the recycled content target.

• Whether biobased materials and tire elastomers can be counted toward the recycled plastic target will be decided after the European Commission completes its review.

• If the market supply is insufficient or the price is too high, the target for recycled plastic content may be reduced, and the implementation time may also be delayed.

Staged implementation of minimum recycled plastic content

Pursuant to the interim agreement, the new regulation will establish minimum recycled plastic content requirements for passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, conventional heavy-duty vehicles, motorcycles, and special-purpose vehicles (excluding manufacturers of small special heavy-duty vehicles), to be implemented in phases over a ten-year period.

• Starting from the 6th year after the regulation comes into effect, new vehicles must contain at least 15% recycled plastic.

• From the 10th year after the regulation takes effect, this percentage must be increased to 25%.

• At least 20% of the recycled plastic must come from end-of-life vehicles (ELVs). Converted, this means that six years after the regulation takes effect, 3% of the recycled plastic should come from ELVs; and 10 years later, this proportion will increase to 5%.

Regenerated polyolefins become the main material

ICIS plastics recycling analyst Mia McLachlan stated: “These recycled content requirements are expected to be met primarily through recycled polyolefins, given their widespread application in the automotive industry and the relatively more abundant supply of associated waste feedstock compared to other polymers. According to ICIS’s prior forecast, automotive industry demand for recycled polyolefins will reach 500,000–600,000 tonnes by 2040, with the majority being recycled polypropylene, as polypropylene is a key material for automotive components.”

Moreover, within 72 months after the entry into force of the regulation, the European Commission shall assess the technological development and environmental performance of bio-based plastics and tire elastomers and, “where appropriate,” propose legislative initiatives regarding their sustainability and targets, including whether they may be included in the recycled content calculation system.

Implementation may face delays

The provisional agreement also stipulates that if the supply of a specific type of recycled plastic is insufficient or its price is too high, making it difficult to meet the minimum content requirements, the European Commission has the authority to postpone or temporarily lower the relevant requirements. Additionally, for the first 48 months after the regulation comes into effect, recycled materials sourced from outside the EU cannot be counted towards the minimum content targets. Even after this period, if they are allowed to be counted, they will be subject to stringent requirements, such as independent third-party audits, and it is expected that the quantity of available materials from overseas will be very limited.