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The goal of this paper is to define and quantify the contribution of used parts to vehicle recycling. In 1997, this research was stimulated when the Federal Trade Commission opened hearings on the definition of recycling. At this time, general facts about the automotive recycling industry and reuse of automotive parts were hard to find. This study's goal was to produce actual data on the contribution of reuse to vehicle recycling and to answer questions about the industry. Can accurate reuse measurements be calculated with data collected from recyclers? What should be the expected average performance of a company in the recycling industry? What effect can reuse have on landfill avoidance? The results of this study established that the sale and reuse of used parts played a significant role in vehicle recycling. The Automotive Recyclers Association, representing the existing industry, testified at the FTC hearings using preliminary results from this study.

With the presentation of this paper on the impact of reuse on recycling, the justifying groundwork will have been laid for the expanded definition of recycling to include reuse as a valid contribution to recyclability calculations. This proposed research will collect data from a statistical sampling from the membership of the Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA). For the first time, statistical data will be available to scientifically determine the impact or effect of reuse on the current definition of recycling. This data is anticipated to establish an expanded view of the automotive recycling market and validate the inclusion of reuse into the currently accepted definition of recycling and recyclability (W. Lange; SAE 950205) and will be presented in a subsequent SAE paper in 1998.