Now there are two, but still too few
In a span of less than a year, two End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) dismantling facilities have already been recognized and accredited by Toyota Motor Philippines: One north of Manila (En Tsumugi in Mexico Pampanga); the other south of the Metro (Standard Insurance dismantling facility in Naic, Cavite).
Toyota Motor Philippines officially announced its endorsement of the Standard Insurance ELV dismantling facility on June 30 at the Naic site, with TMP president Masando Hashimoto and several TMP officials gracing the occasion. This has been the second dismantling facility endorsed by Toyota in the Philippines, contributing to the Toyota Global 100 Dismantlers Project as part of its efforts towards “establishing a recycling-based society and system” under the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050 which the automaker globally announced in 2015.
Standard Insurance’s dismantling facility optimizes the extraction and processing of reusable and recyclable materials from ELVs, with minimal adverse effects to the environment.
Standard Insurance Company Inc, a non-life insurance provider established in 1963 in the Philippines, also operates a Technical and Training Center (SICI-TTC) in its 6.5-hectare grounds in Naic.
I was invited, along with a handful of other motoring media, to visit the Naic ELV dismantling facilities last Monday. The area allocated for vehicle dismantling operations—nearly 9,000-sqm—was expansive enough to necessitate a shuttle ride just to get from one processing area to the next. The facility is equipped to process and dismantle up to 6 units in a day.
The ELV dismantling facility has been operating since 2014, and the average annual number of units processed has been around 850.
Ernesto T. Echauz, Standard Insurance Co Inc’s group chairman said: “We studied recycling operations in Japan, at the Japan Recycling Institute, in 2016 to 2017. I was there myself. When I read about Toyota-accredited recycling companies two years ago, I wrote the TMP president. They sent someone from Japan to check (our) practices. Thrice.”
Echauz said that Standard Insurance’s ELV facility key features include integrated repair, restoration and ELV dismantling operations; trained technicians and eco-friendly devolution practices; use of advanced shredding and sorting technology, parts reuse, resale and metal recycling.
Gathered scrap metals are sold to SteelAsia, where they are formed into rebars. Scrap plastics from vehicles are turned into pallets. Salvaged vehicle parts are sold to various auto parts dealers. Chemicals from ELVs are sold to a Treater Hauler accredited by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The freon recovered are reused.
Standard Insurance is also involved in the community. “We’ve also adopted the Naic River. We’ll be dredging the river by next month to take out the garbage that has accumulated at its mouth. This is part of our advocacy,” Echauz said.
Each year, it is estimated that more than 50 million vehicles reach the end of their service life throughout the world, according to the Implementing Sustainable Low and Non-Chemical Developing States Program.
ELVs contain hazardous components such as lead batteries, refrigerant gases, mercury and mechanical oils. They also contain persistent organic pollutants in the form of decaBDE and other brominated flame retardants in the textiles and foams used in artificial leather for seat covers and interior lining, as well as added to hard plastics, electronic parts, cable casings, shrink plastics, tapes, and other vehicular components.
ELV dismantling and processing sites such as this in Naic, Cavite and the one in Mexico, Pampanga, provide a sustainable, profitable, yet environmentally sound alternative to “chop-chop” scrapyards and junk shops that leave their environs worse off than when they found them. Let’s hope that the 2 become 20, then 200 sooner rather than later.
