Recycling of Imported Vehicles

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.

Recycling Fees for Imported Vehicles

Under the Auto Recycling Law, motor vehicle owners are asked to pay the expenses necessary for recycling and disposal (recycling fees).

Recycling Fees of JAIA Members

JAIA member importers announce the recycling fees applicable to their vehicles.

Please see here for details of their recycling fees.

Composition of Recycling Fees

The recycling fee is composed of the expenses for proper handling of the automobile shredder residue (ASR), fluorocarbons and airbags, as well as charges for management of information and funds. The amounts are set depending on the expected amount of ASR generated, the number of airbags and ease of dismantling, and the volume of fluorocarbons filled in.

Timing of Fee Payment

The auto recycling fees are “paid in advance”. Payments will be required upon purchase of new cars in or after January 2005. (Collection of fees upon the statutory motor vehicle inspection (shaken) for those vehicles already sold has been completed and ended in February 2008.)

The vehicles for which recycling fees have not been paid cannot be registered as new cars. When recycling fees are paid at the time of new car purchase or old car disposal, “recycling vouchers” are issued as a certificate of payment.

The recycling fees paid to new vehicle dealers, etc are forwarded to the Japan Automobile Recycling Promotion Center (JARC), which manages the funds until the vehicles are recycled.

For those parallel- or privately-imported vehicles for which no entity exists to implement the recycling pursuant to the Auto Recycling Law, recycling fees are set and announced by a designated recycling organization (JARC).