The European End of-Life Vehicle (ELV) Directive limits the use of Substances of Concern – in response, Lexus uses a number of zero-lead car parts and anti-corrosion coatings, mercury-free lighting and switches and asbestos-free friction materials and engine gaskets.
The EU target for car manufacturers is to have 85% of vehicle weight being re-used and recycled and 10% energy recovery by 2015. With this in mind, Lexus Japan has developed ways of using certain foam products found in vehicle residue to create recycled sound-proofing products and glass residue can also be recycled to make tiles for use in landscaping pavement.
Once end-of-life vehicles have been shredded to extract all usable materials, the residue is melted down into extremely small packs for landfill, thus reducing the environmental impact of burying material.
