MBA Polymers targets auto bumpers in the UK

MBA Polymers UK, which is affiliated with United Kingdom-based metals and end-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycler EMR Ltd., has opened a production dedicated to reprocessing end-of-life car bumpers.

The company says its new production line in Wimblington, England, will create a circular supply chain for high-quality plastics sourced from end-of-life car bumpers.

The facility has been commissioned in part to help car manufacturers meet proposed amendments to an ELV directive in the European Union and the U.K. proposing that at least 25 percent of plastics in a car must be made from postconsumer recycled-content material.

The new facility will accept material from its “growing number of collection sites” and access feedstock from one of the U.K.’s largest ELV recyclers in EMR.

“This creates consistent and high-quality recycled resins for the production of high-impact polypropylene (PP) and filled PP," MBA Polymers says.

MBA Polymers says it technology and the performance of its recycled-content PP has helped convince some automakers to begin using its materials in their new vehicles. 

By expanding its car bumper recycling operation, MBA Polymers UK says it will “significantly" reduce the more than 900,000 metric tons of plastic from cars that currently go to landfill or incineration in the U.K. and EU each year.

The company also says the recycled-content materials it delivers to automakers achieve carbon savings from 75 percent to 86 percent. The recycled-content PP are among the first recycled plastics to carry the U.K. Carbon Trust's Low CO₂ label. 

Earlier this year, MBA Polymers UK achieved RecyClass certification for the sorting, washing, extrusion and pellet production stages for several of its recycled plastics including PP, filled PP, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE).

Belgium-based RecyClass is a not-for-profit cross-industry initiative designed to use scientific analysis to ensure the traceability of materials in plastic recycling processes.

“As the automotive industry faces the challenge of meeting recycling targets mandated by the upcoming revision to the EU’s ELV Directive, sourcing truly sustainable recycled plastics is becoming more important than ever,” says Paul Mayhew, general manager of MBA Polymers.

“The opening of this new dedicated line at our facility in Wimblington will enable MBA Polymers to recycle ever greater volumes of plastics, using our advanced separation and processing techniques to deliver high-quality polymers back to manufacturers.”

He adds that plastics make up around 12 percent of an average vehicle’s weight, and the company's latest investment highlights how MBA Polymers will enable the automotive industry to create truly circular supply chains on the path to net zero.