A brief look into the car industry’s pursuit of sustainable materials
With the rising awareness of climate change, more and more sectors are looking into sustainability, the process of turning environmentally unfriendly materials into usable items.
The auto industry, being one of the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions, is no exception to this rule. From reclaimed wood to seat covers made from plastic bottles, the auto industry is working to turn otherwise landfill material into viable alternatives for other environmentally harmful resources.
Below are some ways the industry has succeeded in turning trash into treasure alongside a few they are actively pursuing.
Recycled plastic: From bottles to seats
Plastic waste, specifically polyethylene terephthalate (PET), is one of the biggest environmental hazards of modern times. Used to make single-use items such as shopping bags, soda bottles and straws, they are hard to dispose of and take an estimated 500 years to disintegrate (it still remains as micro or nano plastic).
National Geographic speculated that of the 8.3 billion metric ton of plastic humanity has created in the last six years, 6.3 billion metric ton have become plastic waste. Only nine per cent of which has been recycled. The vast majority—79 percent—is accumulating in landfills or sloughing off in the natural environment as littre.
Audi’s concept sears are made from yarn produced with 89% ground up pet bottle
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Audi’s concept sears are made from yarn produced with 89% ground up pet bottle
The most common way carmakers recycle plastic is by turning them into interior upholstery. German automaker Audi is working on seats that are made with yarn produced from 89% ground up PET bottles. Conversely, American auto giant Ford already uses Repreve on some of their cars, which is a hybrid fibre made from recycled plastic water bottles and post-industrial waste.
Volvo has recently begun switching leather trims with Nordico, a textile made from recycled PET bottles, bio-attributed material and corks recycled from wine bottles
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Volvo has recently begun switching leather trims with Nordico, a textile made from recycled PET bottles, bio-attributed material and corks recycled from wine bottles
Volvo, the Swedish automaker, has recently begun switching their leather trims to Nordico, a textile made from recycled PET bottles, bio-attributed material and corks recycled from wine bottles. While Volkswagen Group’s Spanish offshoot, Cupra, has begun upcycling Mediterranean Sea plastic into the seat material for its Born electric hatchback.
The BMW iX electric SUV uses a total of 132 pounds of recycled plastic
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The BMW iX electric SUV uses a total of 132 pounds of recycled plastic
In addition to the interior, recycled plastic is also used to make other car parts. BMW uses recycled plastic to make the door panels, seats, centre consoles and floors of their new iX electric SUV, which In total contains 132 pounds of recycled plastic.
Recycled Textile: From denim to sound insulation
According to the BBC, the world creates an estimated 92 million ton of textile waste every year. It is estimated that the modern fashion industry is responsible for 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions, with textile production amounting to 1.2 billion ton of greenhouse gases annually.
The concept of incorporating recycled clothes into car manufacturing is not new. During the cold war, East Germany made car bodies using Duroplast, a fibreglass-like material made using waste cotton. However, the cars were bare bones and hard to live with, and Duroplast ended up being too strong for their own good, being almost impervious to elements and hard to recycle.
The sound insulation of Nissan Lead is made out of recycled fabric
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The sound insulation of Nissan Lead is made out of recycled fabric
In recent times, Japanese company Nissan has begun using recycled textile to make sound insulation for their Leaf electric vehicle. French company Renault has begun using seat material made from recycled safety belts, textile scraps and plastic bottles on their Zoe electric vehicle.
Andreas Vetter, BMW’s project lead for exterior and interior design, mentioned in an interview with Forbes that for BMW cars “100% of the under-floor material is recycled insulation from old clothes.” Similarly, Ford uses post-consumer recycled nylon to produce air cleaner housings, engine fans, fan shrouds and many other under-the-hood parts. In addition, the company uses nylon resin made from recycled carpets to make cylinder head covers.