SPE ACCE sustainability panel explores circular automotive barriers

Marco Meloni (top left), Adam Halsband (bottom left), David Wagger (center), Hendrik Mainka (top right) and Brad Allen (bottom right). Source | SPE ACCE

The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Automotive Composites Conference & Expo, taking place this year in Troy, Michigan from Sept. 4-6, highlights a sustainability panel discussion titled “SPE ACCE: Breaking down the barriers to a circular automotive economy” that will be available to attendees.

Automotive industry suppliers are being challenged to deliver more sustainable products — ones that have a lower carbon footprint, enable reduced carbon emissions throughout the product’s life, as well as can be recycled at the vehicle’s end of life (EVL). Moreover these initiatives often pose some confusion on how to support these recycling and circularity goals.

The experts joining this sustainability session will shine much needed light on these topics. Each panelist has direct experience with the automotive industry, ELV materials and components, and the commercial and regulatory drivers which underpin the market for a circular economy.

Dr. Hendrik Mainka from Volkswagen America (Reston, Va., U.S.) will provide direct OEM insight into the global demand for recycled products and how new regulations and automotive customers are driving these solutions; this certainty of demand is a crucial component to energize the EVL market players.

Dr. David Wagger with the Recycled Materias Association (ReMA, Washington, D.C., U.S.) represents the network of EVL dismantlers and shredders in the U.S. that are potential sources of recycled plastics to OEMs and their supply chains. He will provide insights on regulatory drivers and barriers from the ELV processor perspective and the way to navigate them.

Brad Allen from Rebuilders Automotive Supply (RAS, Coventry, R.I., U.S.) will provide insights on how to structure a capable reverse logistics process, a process that RAS has reportedly been executing for decades. These examples demonstrate the importance of information flow and proper valuation of ELV components and materials; when the dismantlers and shredders see what the market is demanding, business cases can be developed to meet that demand.

Marco Meloni with Plastics Recycling Inc. (PRI, Indianapolis, Ind., U.S.) brings decades of ELV and plastics recycling experience to the panel. After successfully establishing ELV recycling and 100% recycled compound programs in Europe, Meloni has turned his focus to the North American market and is reportedly growing one of the largest post-consumer recycling (PCR) processing companies in North America.

The panel session is moderated by Adam Halsband with Forward Engineering (Oak Park, Mich., U.S.). Attendees can directly engage with these experts, and are encouraged to present them with challenging questions.