Addressing Auto Recycling Law
The Auto Recycling Law was fully implemented as of January 1, 2005. The Law was instituted in July 2002 to cope with concerns about illegal dumping and/or improper disposal of end-of-life vehicles (ELV) due to the increase in the cost of processing automobile shredder residue (ASR; the residue which remains after the dismantled vehicles have been shredded, and metal and other useful substances have been separated and recovered) stemming from tight conditions of final disposal facilities and the unstable scrap iron market of recent years, as well as for addressing such new environmental issues as fluorocarbons and airbags.
The Auto Recycling Law mandates vehicle manufacturers/importers to be responsible for the recycling (destruction for fluorocarbons) of ASR, fluorocarbons and airbags from the ELV that they have manufactured or imported.
The authorized vehicle importers, who are JAIA members, have been steadily implementing, jointly with vehicle manufacturers, such recycling tasks in order to play a key role under the Auto Recycling Law.