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This paper presents an analysis of the Vehicle End of Life (VEOL) trends in the United States based on the VEOL model developed by the Vehicle Recycling Partnership (VRP), a consortium between Chrysler Corporation, Ford Motor Company and General Motors. The model, developed interactively with the VRP by the Center for Environmental Quality (CEQ) at the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), accounts for the economic and the material transfer interactions of stakeholders involved in the VEOL process; the insurance valuation, salvage pool, dismantling, rebuilding, maintenance and repair, shredding, and landfilling [Bustani, et al., 1998]. The scenarios analyzed using the VEOL model consider regulations from Europe as well as the U.S. market factors and business policies.

The United States Field Trial was chartered by the United States Council for Automotive Research/Vehicle Recycling Partnership (USCAR/VRP) with the objective of evaluating the feasibility and viability of collecting and recycling automotive polymers from domestic End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs). European concerns regarding vehicle abandonment risks, decreasing landfill capacity, and disposal practices have resulted in the legislated treatment of ELVs in Western Europe. The emergence of attendant material collection schemes promoting material recycling may not apply to the free-market economic conditions prevalent in North America vehicle recycling infrastructure. Although ELVs are among the most widely recycled consumer products, 15-25% of their total mass is currently discarded with no material recovery, although their residue, when permitted, is a preferred landfill day cover in some areas.

A descriptive analysis of the Vehicle End-of-Life (VEOL) process in the U.S. is presented. The material recovery process and the reuse of parts are discussed. A computer VEOL model will be presented which would ultimately be used to analyze the impact of specific regulations, markets factors, and/or business policies, on the recyclability of materials and the reuse of parts. The computer model includes several stages of the VEOL process, including vehicle sales, usage, and retirement; also the dismantling of the retired vehicle, shredding operations, parts and vehicle rebuilders, maintenance and repair. An example of the use of the VEOL computer model on material substitution is presented.