RFID in automotive: A Closed-Loop approach

Every year more than 10 million vehicles reach the end of their useful life in the European Union and generate more than 9 million tons of waste. The European Union issued the directive 2000/53/EC in 2000 aimed at reducing pollution and waste of resources generated by such a huge amount of end of life vehicles (ELVs). Car manufacturers and the other ELVs economic operators actually are working together in order to fulfil EU ELVs directive targets but meeting EU standards will become more difficult in the near future also due to reducing the overall vehicle weight by increased use of polymer. The EU-sponsored CONCLORE project (CONCLORE-STRP-013871) described in the present paper aims to develop a sustainable low emission system to manufacture a 100%-recyclable single-component car interior product. The present paper puts forward the concept of Controlled Closed-Loop Recycling, which connects primary forward supply chain management with reverse supply chain management and is the cornerstone of the methodology for automotive dump reduction.