Toyota Group join hands with Thai Government and DOWA GROUP to announce Feasibility Study of “End of Life Vehicle Green Recycling Project in Thailand”

General Surasak Karnjanarat, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment; Mrs. Sunee Piyapanpong, Director General of Pollution Control Department; Representatives from Department of Industrial Works; Representatives from Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand; Mr. Ninnart Chaithirapinyo, Chairman of Toyota Motor Thailand Co., Ltd., Mr. Kiyoyoshi Oba, President of Toyota Tsusho (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Mr. Yoshiaki Sugawara, President of Waste Management Siam Ltd. on behalf of DOWA Group and representatives from the Thai Government jointly announced the launch of a Feasibility Study on the “End of Life Vehicle Green Recycling Project in Thailand”  at a  joint press conference held in Bangkok on 14^th December, 2017. 

To inspire Thai people to think about the environmental problems around them; and to support the development of a sustainable automotive industry structure in Thailand through End of Life Vehicle management, Toyota Group is cooperating with several government sectors; Pollution Control Department, Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand, Department of Industrial Works, and private sectors; Waste Management Siam Ltd. on behalf of DOWA Group to establish a task force team to kick off this feasibility study in Thailand. The main objective of this feasibility study is to evaluate technical feasibility such as dismantling of End of Life Vehicle, recovery of CFCs/HFCs, and collection of parts and materials at a pilot plant.

Thailand is the first country in ASEAN region to adopt Toyota group’s dismantling plant model by association by  as there are many registered vehicles in Thailand but no proper End of Life Vehicle dismantling system. If End of Life Vehicles are inappropriately abandoned or dismantled, it may cause global warming due to the release of refrigerants in mobile air conditioning systems e.g. CFCs gas, HFCs gas. These greenhouse gases affect global warming 124 – 14,800 times* of CO₂.

Since April 2017, the project started with establishment of the End of Life Vehicle Recycling task force through collaboration among Government agencies, Toyota group and also DOWA group for feasibility study of End of Life Vehicle management. In November 2017, we started vehicle dismantling operation trial at Green Metals (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (Toyota Tsusho Thailand), focusing on recovery of CFCs, HFCs, and hazardous wastes such as airbags, lubricant oil from vehicles .etc. These were sent to Bangpoo Environmental Complex Co., Ltd. and Eastern Seaboard Environmental Complex Company Ltd. (DOWA Group) for proper treatment.

Atmosphere of press conference