Experts at SIAM webinar discuss end-of-life vehicle recycling and Scrappage Policy

In light of the recent budget announcement on Vehicle Scrappage Policy and expectations on various policy regulations and notifications, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) hosted its 10th Lecture Series virtually on the theme of ‘Imperatives of ELV Recycling: Indian ELVs Guidelines & Basel Ban Amendment 2019’.

With a focus on sustainable material management and environmentally safe disposals, the lecture series concentrated on comprehensively sharing the Industry’s experience on eliminating waste through material and end-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycling. The lecture was a part of SIAM’s 20 thematic areas on environment and road safety for integrating and mainstreaming the environmental and safety imperative for attaining sustainability in automotive sector.

The expert panel comprised of industry veterans, including Piyush Mahapatra, Program Coordinator (Chemical & Health Program) Toxic Link; Sanjay Mehta, President – Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI) & Director, MTC Group; Bharat Sharma Additional Director, Central Pollution Control Board; S K Gupta, Senior Advisor, Maruti Suzuki India; Dr. Sunil Pandey, Senior Fellow, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI); Rachna Arora, Senior Technical Advisor, GIZ, New Delhi; Sue Schauls,  Executive Director, Iowa Automotive Recyclers, USA and Dr. Rashid Hasan, Advisor SIAM.

The panellists touched upon and shared their insights on the topics:

• Basel Ban Amendment 2019: Imperatives of ELV recycling and circular economy
• Material Recycling and Scrappage Policy Support in India and Way Forward
• Status on: Implementation of ELV guidelines 2019 by CPCB
• Automotive Sector: National experiences and challenges of ELV recycling in India
• ELV recycling: Challenges and Learnings in India
• EU Perspective: ELV recycling; Impact of Basel Ban Amendment 2019
• US experiences and status of ELV recycling vis-à-vis circular economy

The industry stalwarts reached on a common consensus that the rapid depletion of natural resources and undesired environmental changes globally and ELV recycling is mandatory for auto-manufacturers by legislation for the purpose of minimizing potential environmental damage.

Prashant K Banerjee, Executive Director, SIAM said, “There is a dire need to institutionalise automobile recycling in India and figure out methods to dispose ELVs in an environment friendly manner. We firmly believe that the vehicle scrappage policy of the government will not only help in removing old and polluting vehicles from roads but will also augment the demand for new vehicles with better emission technology, resulting in optimum utilisation of nation’s resources like fuel, metals, raw material and so on.”

“The purpose of this lecture series is to create awareness and gain insights about ELVs and its regulations. SIAM has been continuously working towards providing an assertive and stimulating platform for the industry to come together and collectively address concerns that are impacting the nation at large,” added Banerjee.

The 10th lecture series highlighted on the imperatives of ELV recycling besides national policy and regulations, the lectures delved on the economics of recycling, including technology in designing material and developing recycling infrastructure in India.

Image courtesy: Toyota