DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY

Benefits of green recycled auto parts

By SARAH PERKINS

In the ever-shifting world of collision repair where precision meets expertise and every damaged vehicle presents an opportunity to drive the industry forward, an often-overlooked area is the use of green recycled parts in repairs.

While the automotive industry continues to make the push toward a more environmentally- sustainable future, when it comes to automotive industry customers—especially those of collision repairers—more work needs to be done to develop an understanding of the potential environmental benefits of using green recycled parts over new parts and the reality of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs), according to a study from the Ontario Automotive Recyclers Association (OARA).

At least, this perspective on consumer awareness comes according to a new report compiled by Oakdene Hollins for OARA which states that, “while attention has been paid to EV expansion, the same level of investigation into emission reduction opportunities has not yet been applied to the contemporary goods and services related to motor vehicles once they are placed in the market.”

With the auto parts industry being one of Canada’s largest retail markets, valued at over $20 billion, OARA’s study thus aims to highlight the potential environmental impacts of using green recycled parts over new parts for replacement in Ontario, as well as to identify potential actions that different market actors can take for supporting the future growth of green recycled parts adoption.

OARA’s study begins by exploring the current market realities of the Canadian automotive recycling industry. In Canada, the current vehicle dismantling market size sits at an estimated 1.6 million vehicles processed per year; 41 percent are processed in Ontario. Analysis conducted for this study further notes that the used parts market in Ontario is just under $806 million. This means that used parts in the province account for roughly three to four percent of the total Canadian auto parts revenue.

Green recycled parts are most often a direct substitute for new spare parts. However, the arisings of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) from which to acquire these parts are influenced by variables such as the expected lifetime of newer vehicles (newer cars may contain parts with longer lifetimes) and consumer cost of living (higher costs of living may encourage owners to keep their vehicles for longer periods).

When considering the specific factors for collection and adoption by collision repairers specifically, OARA’s study further outlines how for collision repairers, the reduced wait time associated with green recycled parts could be seen as a driving force for increased demand. However, without the benefit of improved regulation, gaps in safety and knowledge may be a limiting factor to collision repairers encouraging the use of green recycled parts.

Moreover, the collision repair industry’s close ties to the automotive insurance industry means that increasing interest from insurers is also needed for a more robust adoption of green recycled parts. However, the report notes that insurers would also benefit as green recycled parts would help reduce the carbon impact of the claims process.

When considering the potential benefits of increasingly adopting green recycled parts into the collision repair industry, OARA ends its report with future recommendations at the level of the consumer, industry, and government policy.

At the level of government policy, OARA outlines how all steps taken across the automotive industry need to be continuously supported by government initiatives that promote green recycled parts as a viable option.

For collision repairers specifically, OARA further suggests that shops should actively participate in the recycling industry to portray green recycled parts as a safe alternative to customers and should work to acquire the knowledge necessary to communicate information regarding green recycled parts to customers.

In addition to this recommendation, OARA also suggests that collision repairers and insurers should work to better directly communicate with the recycling industry to ensure the further development of appropriate and fair practices in procuring vehicles for green recycled parts and reuse.

As such, for OARA, as professionals in the collision repair field continue to gain awareness, adopting the use of green recycled parts represents not just a choice, but a transformative step toward a more forwardthinking future.