Economic Impact of Aluminum-Intensive Vehicles on the U.S. Automotive Recycling Infrastructure

The use of aluminum alloys in automobile production is growing as automakers strive to lower vehicle fuel consumption and reduce emissions by substituting aluminum for steel. The current recycling infrastructure for end-of-life vehicles is mature, profitable, and well suited to steel-intensive vehicles; increased use of cast and wrought aluminum, however, will present new challenges and opportunities to the disassembler and shredder, who now comprise the first stages of the vehicle recycling infrastructure.
Using goal programming techniques, a model of the auto recycling infrastructure is used to assess the materials streams and process profitabilities for several different aluminum-intensive vehicle (AIV) processing scenarios. The first case simulates the processing of an AIV in the current recycling infrastructure. Various changes to the initial case demonstrate the consequences to the disassembler and shredder profitabilities whenever the price of nonferrous metals changes; greater fractions of the vehicle are removed as parts; the parts removed by the disassembler have increased aluminum content; the quantity of polymer removed by the disassembler is increased; the disassembly costs increase; the disposal costs for shredder residue and hazardous materials increase; the shredder processing costs increase; and different AIV designs are considered. These profits are also compared to those achieved for a steel unibody vehicle to highlight the impact of introducing AIVs into the existing infrastructure. Results indicate that the existing infrastructure will be able to accommodate AIVs without economic detriment.     

Economic Consequences of Increasing Polymer Content for the U.S. Automobile Recycling Infrastructure

Environmental awareness regarding resource use and emissions over the life cycle of the automobile has heightened the concerns for end-of-life (EOL) vehicle disposal. With increasing use of lighter materials to enhance fuel economythe steel dominated content of automobiles is changing to include a greater fraction of polymers. In light of impending regulations for vehicle disposal, various alternatives for remanufacturing and reuse of components and material disposal are under investigation. For example, if shredder operations are used to reclaim metallic materials, then the extent of disassembly will significantly affect proftability as well as the environment.
Using goal programming, we explore changes to the current US. vehicle recycling infrastructure for their effects on dismantler and shredder proftabilities. To investigate the effect of lightweighting on the profrtabilrty of the recycling infrastructure, two specific vehicle designs are compared: a steel unibody and a polymer-intensive vehicle. Other scenarios examine the outcomes for mandating removal of polymer materials during disassembly and for increasing the disposal cost of scrap polymer to that of hazardous waste. The results indicate that, if properly controlled, the current automobile recycling infrastructure in the United States can remain economically viable while it improves with respect to environmental considerations. Alternatively, implementation of certain policies that reduce profitability could cause disastrous consequences, resulting in the economic collapse of the infrastructure.     

Intergenerational coresidence and the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States

This paper investigates the relation between intergenerational coresidence and mortality from Covid-19 in 2020. Using a cross-section of U.S. counties, we show that this association is positive, sizeable, significant, and robust to the inclusion of several demographic and socio-economic controls. Furthermore, using evidence from past, pre-pandemic years, we argue that this positive, sizeable and significant association is somewhat specific to the Covid-19 pandemic.     

Current Estimates of the Economic Cost of Obesity in the United States

This study was undertaken to update and revise the estimate of the economic impact of obesity in the United States. A prevalence-based approach to the cost of illness was used to estimate the economic costs in 1995 dollars attributable toobesity for type 2 diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease (CHD), hypertension, gallbladder disease, breast, endometrial and colon cancer, and osteoarthritis. Additionally and independently, excess physician visits, work-lost days, restricted activity, and bed-days attributable to obesity were analyzed cross-sectionally using the 1988 and 1994 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Direct (personal health care, hospital care, physician services, allied health services, and medications) and indirect costs (lost output as a result of a reduction or cessation of productivity due to morbidity or mortality) are from published reports and inflated to 1995 dollars using the medical component of the consumer price index (CPI) for direct cost and the all-items CPI for indirect cost. Population-attributable risk percents (PAR%) are estimated from large prospective studies. Excess work-lost days, restricted activity, bed-days, and physician visits are estimated from 88,262 U. S. citizens who participated in the 1988 NHIS and 80,261 who participated in the 1994 NHIS. Sample weights have been incorporated into the NHIS analyses, making these data generalizable to the U. S. population. The total cost attributable to obesity amounted to $99. 2 billion dollars in 1995. Approximately $51. 64 billion of those dollars were direct medical costs. Using the 1994 NHIS data, cost of lost productivity attributed to obesity (BMI≥30) was $3. 9 billion and reflected 39. 2 million days of lost work. In addition, 239 million restricted-activity days, 89. 5 million bed-days, and 62. 6 million physician visits were attributable to obesity in 1994. Compared with 1988 NHIS data, in 1994 the number of restricted-activity days (36%), bed-days (28%), and work-lost days (50%) increased substantially. The number of physician visits attributed to obesity increased 88% from 1988 to 1994. The economic and personal health costs of overweight and obesity are enormous and compromise the health of the United States. The direct costs associated with obesity represent 5. 7% of our National Health Expenditure in the United States .     

Strategies for Meeting EU End-of-Life Vehicle Reuse/Recovery Targets

Disposal of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) is a relatively new focus of the European policy community. Technical requirements for car design and minimum reuse and recovery rates for end-of-life vehicles are the subject of a recent European Union directive on ELVs. This directive is expected to induce changes in the infrastructure required for ELV processing, and presents a substantial challenge to maintaining such an infrastructure as economically viable.
This paper assesses current and emerging ELV recycling technologies, in order to provide guidelines for the development of future ELV recycling strategies. Emphasis is given to technologies dedicated to automobile shredder residue (ASR) recovery, as an alternative/complement to more labor-intensive dismantling activities. The ultimate goal is to develop a vision of the type of ASR processing technology that could emerge in the future.
The analysis is based on a model developed to simulate ELV processing infrastructures, and shredding data are taken from full-scale experiments. The results obtained show that ASR mechanical separation and recycling technologies may enable more extensive recycling and contribute to achieving European Union recycling targets, and can thus be considered as far more promising than technologies based on energy recovery.     

Extended Producer Responsibility in the United States

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is a policy approach that requires manufacturers to finance the costs of recycling or safely disposing of products consumers no longer want. This article describes the evolution of EPR policies in the United States, focusing on the role of states as policy actors. For their part, federal lawmakers have not embraced EPR policies except to remove some barriers to state‐level initiatives. In the two‐decade period from 1991 to 2011, U.S. states enacted more than 70 EPR laws. In addition, manufacturers have implemented voluntary programs to collect and recycle products, but those efforts have proven largely ineffective in capturing significant quantities of waste products. With the help of new coalitions of diverse interest groups, recently states have renewed efforts to establish effective EPR programs, enacting 40 laws in the period 2008–2011. Several state initiatives suggest a more promising future for EPR.     

Clean Recycling of Lead-Acid Batteries for Electric Vehicles: A Reply to Socolow and Thomas

This article is stimulated by the analysis of Socolow and Thomas in the first issue of this journal. Our work showed that a lead-acid battery-powered electric vehicle (Ev) would result in more lead being discharged into the environment than a comparable car burning leaded gasoline. Five hundred thousand EVs would lead to a 20% increase in lead use in the United States, and presumably a comparable 20% increase in lead discharges.
The Socolow-Thomas analysis asserts: (I) choosing not to pursue technology that uses toxic materials will unduly constrain the research and development (R&D) in advanced vehicles and limit the options likely to emerge from that research; (2) we do not do a full risk assessment of the lead discharges from lead smelting, battery making and recycling; and (3) in response to regulation the industry might devise a "clean recycling" system.
We doubt the wisdom of increasing R&D on lead batteries because introducing large quantities of lead into cars will pose health risks. The possibility of clean recycling in the future is not an adequate basis for mandating EVs. Proponents of EVs should prove there is no harm to the environment Regulators should not require EVs until there is a reasonable showing of environmental benefit and that the requirement is cost-effective in reducing ozone.     

Recycling Rates of Aluminum in the United States

Recycling rates of aluminum are defined in different (sometimes inconsistent) ways and poorly quantified. To address this situation, the definitions and calculation methods of four groups of indicators are specified for the United States: (1) indicators used to measure recycling efficiencies of old aluminum scrap at the end‐of‐life (EOL) stage, including EOL collection rate (CR), EOL processing rate, EOL recycling rate, and EOL domestic recycling rate; (2) indicators used to compare generation or use of new with old scrap, including new to old scrap ratio, new scrap ratio (NSR), and old scrap ratio; (3) indicators used to compare production or use of primary aluminum with secondary aluminum, including four recycling input rates (RIRs); and (4) indicators used to track the sinks of aluminum metal in the U.S. anthroposphere. I find that the central estimate of EOL CR varies between 38% and 65% in the United States from 1980 to 2009 and shares a relatively similar historical trend with the primary aluminum price. The RIR is shown to be significantly reduced if excluding secondary aluminum produced from new scrap resulting from the relatively high NSR. In 2003, a time when approximately 73% of all of the aluminum produced globally since 1950 was considered to still be “in service,” approximately 68% to 69% of all metallic aluminum that had entered the U.S. anthroposphere since 1900 was still in use: 67% in domestic in‐use stock and 1% to 2% exported as scrap. Only 6% to 7% was definitely lost to the environment, although the destination of 25% of the aluminum was unknown. It was either exported as EOL products, was currently hibernating, or was lost during collection.     

Economics of Northern Bobwhite and Timber Management in the Southeastern United States

ABSTRACT Populations of northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) have declined significantly over the past 50 years, and the primary factor contributing to this decline has been the loss of habitat. Forest landowners who are concerned with providing bobwhite habitat as well as generating revenue from timber should balance the silvicultural requirements of timber production with the biological needs of the bobwhite. The goal of this study was to determine the economic tradeoffs between bobwhite and timber management and how to minimize loss or maximize profit when managing for bobwhite and timber simultaneously. I performed discounted cash flow analyses, calculated land expectation value, and determined the financially optimal rotation age and optimal timing and intensity of thinnings for loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantations under specific management objectives. My results show that the annual per-hectare economic gains of managing for both bobwhite and timber ranged from US$19.27 to $41.37 on site index 50 land, and ranged from $32.63 to $50.02 on site index 90 land. My analysis indicates that bobwhite management provides an investment opportunity to landowners whose low-productivity sites would be unprofitable if timber is the only product. My study provides an example of integrating multiple uses of goods and services in a way that maximizes economic returns and aids land managers in producing better habitat for bobwhite.     

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Payback for Lightweighted Vehicles Using Aluminum and High‐Strength Steel

In this article we consider interactions between life cycle emissions and materials flows associated with lightweighting (LW) automobiles. Both aluminum and high‐strength steel (HSS) lightweighting are considered, with LW ranging from 6% to 23% on the basis of literature references and input from industry experts. We compare the increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with producing lightweight vehicles with the saved emissions during vehicle use. This yields a calculation of how many years of vehicle use are required to offset the added GHG emissions from the production stage. Payback periods for HSS are shorter than for aluminum. Nevertheless, achieving significant LW with HSS comparable to aluminum‐intensive vehicles requires not only material substitution but also the achievement of secondary LW by downsizing of other vehicle components in addition to the vehicle structure. GHG savings for aluminum LW varies strongly with location where the aluminum is produced and whether secondary aluminum can be utilized instead of primary. HSS is less sensitive to these parameters. In principle, payback times for vehicles lightweighted with aluminum can be shortened by closed‐loop recycling of wrought aluminum (i.e., use of secondary wrought aluminum). Over a 15‐year time horizon, however, it is unlikely that this could significantly reduce emissions from the automotive industry, given the challenges involved with enabling a closed‐loop aluminum infrastructure without downcycling automotive body structures.     

Prospects for Cellulosic Biofuel Production in the Northeastern United States: A Scenario Analysis

Secure access to energy and food are two of the challenges facing the Northeast region of the United States. Traditional biofuel feedstocks, such as corn and oil seed, are able to satisfy energy requirements. However, they compete with food production for desirable land and water resources and, in any case, are not likely to exploit the region's current comparative advantages. This study investigates a potential solution to the energy security problem in the Northeast: biofuel from advanced feedstock in the form of net forest growth and woody wastes, of which the region has abundant endowments. The federal government has committed to requiring 79.5 billion liters (BL) of advanced biofuel production annually by 2022. We evaluate both the physical capacity for its production and its cost competitiveness using an input‐output model of consumption, production, and trade in the 13‐state region. The model minimizes resource use required to satisfy given consumer demand using alternative technological options and subject to resource constraints. We compile data from the technical literature quantifying state‐level biofuel feedstock endowments and the technological requirements for cellulosic ethanol production. We find that exploiting the region's endowment of cellulosic feedstock requires either making the price of biofuels competitive with gasoline through subsidies or restricting imports of gasoline. Based on this initial investigation, we conclude that the region can produce significant amounts of advanced biofuel, up to 20.28 BL of cellulosic ethanol per year, which could displace nearly 12.5% of the gasoline that is now devoted to motorized transport in the region.     

Quantity,Components, and Value of Waste Materials Landfilled in the United States

The current system of production and consumption needs end‐of‐life disposal to function, but the linkage between upstream production‐consumption with the downstream landfill as terminus is, at best, a tenuous, one‐way relationship, suggesting a partial system failure. A starting point to fix this link is to confront, systematically, the messy “black box” that is mixed waste landfilling, interrogate its contents locally, and determine a baseline that can be used to scale up results. Here, we develop a detailed model characterizing landfilled municipal solid waste (MSW) in the United States across the dimensions of material quantity, quality, location, and time. The model triangulates measurements spanning 1,161 landfills (representing up to 95% of landfilled MSW) and 15,169 solid waste samples collected and analyzed at 222 sites across the United States. We confirm that landfilled quantities of paper (63 million megagrams [Mg]), food waste (35 million Mg), plastic (32 million Mg, textiles (10 million Mg), and electronic waste (3.5 million Mg) are far larger than computed by previous top‐down U.S. government estimates. We estimate the cost of MSW landfill disposal in 2015 (10.7 billion U.S. dollars [USD]) and gross lost commodity value of recyclable material (1.4 billion USD). Further, we estimate landfill methane emissions to be up to 14% greater (mass basis) than the 2015 U.S. inventory. By principally relying on measurements of waste quantity and type that are recorded annually, the model can inform more effective, targeted interventions to divert waste materials from landfill disposal, improve local, regional, and national emission estimates, enhance dissipative loss estimates in material flow analyses, and illuminate the dynamics linking material, energy, and economic dimensions to production, consumption, and disposal cycles.     

Life Cycle Inventory Analysis of the Wood Pallet Repair Process in the United States

This study developed gate‐to‐gate life cycle inventory (LCI) data for the repair of 48 by 40 inch (1,219 by 1,016 millimeter [mm]) stringer‐class wood pallets in the United States. Data were collected from seven wood pallet repair facilities. Approximately 1.98 FBM (foot, board measure) (4.67E‐03 cubic meters) of lumber were used for repairing each 48 by 40 inch (1,219 by 1,016 mm) stringer‐class wood pallet, the majority (97%) recovered from damaged pallets received by the pallet repair facilities. Repair equipment powered by electricity made the largest contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Steel nails used for the pallet repair had the largest contribution to GHG emissions among the material inputs, while use of recovered lumber yielded the largest GHG emissions credits. Overall, the repair process for a 48 by 40 inch (1,219 by 1,016 mm) stringer‐class wood pallet had GHG credits rather than a positive GHG emission due to the GHG offsets from co‐products.     

Comparative Analysis of Extended Producer Responsibility Policy in the United States and Canada

This article analyzes the policy choices and programmatic elements of extended producer responsibility (EPR) as implemented in the United States and Canada. The article traces the historical development of EPR in each country and defines common features of EPR in each nation. The U.S. states and the Canadian provinces have assumed the primary role, rather than the federal governments, for enacting producer responsibility requirements in their respective countries. However, the paths taken demonstrate several fundamental differences, including the prevalence of individual versus collective responsibility and the financing mechanisms implemented for EPR. Given the deepening experience with EPR and the breadth of its application to a widening array of products in the United States, the Canadian model for EPR is starting to receive more examination from policy makers in the United States, indicating that the policy and programmatic differences between the two nations may eventually be narrowing. The comparative policy analysis is illustrated through the lens of EPR regulatory efforts for waste electronics, with particular profiles of the programs in the State of Minnesota and Province of Ontario. Both approaches broadly reflect many of the policy considerations and governance and programmatic themes that dominate EPR programs in each country. Finally, the article offers recommendations for collaborative work between the United States and Canada to explore consistency between programs and other complementary strategies to support producer responsibility activities.     

Assessing the Greenhouse Gas Savings Potential of Extended Producer Responsibility for Mattresses and Boxsprings in the United States

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation in the United States, which currently only exists on the state level, now includes three mattress EPR acts, which intend to shift the financial and operational burden of mattress end‐of‐life (EOL) management away from local and state government. It is important to keep in mind, however, that the original objective behind EPR is to reduce the environmental life cycle impacts of products. This article therefore quantifies the greenhouse gas (GHG) savings potential of mattress and boxspring recycling and reuse in the United States and also discusses labor implications and mattress design issues. We find that all three acts are unlikely to generate redesign incentives, but are expected to dramatically increase mattress collection and recycling. The collection and recycling of all 35 million EOL mattress and boxspring units estimated to reach the end of their lives in the United States every year would generate in the order of 10,000 jobs and GHG savings between 1 and 1.5 million metric tonnes.     

Compensating for wetland losses in the United States

Impacts of climate change on US wetlands will add to those of historical impacts due to other causes. In the US, wetland losses and degradation result from drainage for agriculture, filling for urbanization and road construction. States that rely heavily on agriculture (California, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana) have lost over 80% of their historical area of wetlands, and large cities, such as Los Angeles and New York City, have retained only tiny remnants of wetlands, all of which are highly disturbed. The cumulative effects of historical and future degradation will be difficult to abate. A recent review of mitigation efforts in the US shows a net loss of wetland area and function, even though 'no net loss' is the national policy and compensatory measures are mandatory. US policy does not include mitigation of losses due to climate change. Extrapolating from the regulatory experience, one can expect additional losses in wetland areas and in highly valued functions. Coastal wetlands will be hardest hit due to sea-level rise. As wetlands are increasingly inundated, both quantity and quality will decline. Recognition of historical, current and future losses of wetland invokes the precautionary principal: avoid all deliberate loss of coastal wetland area in order to reduce overall net loss. Failing that, our ability to restore and sustain wetlands must be improved substantially.     

Heider's "Anthropological Models of Incest Laws in the United States": A Comment

In his analysis of U.S. legal prohibitions of marriage with relatives, Heider rejects the Old Testament model as an explanation of the configuration of current state laws. Although Heider's statement is generally accurate, the statutes seem to express two basic models, an attenuated Biblical and a Western American pattern. These patterns are the inverse of each other with regard to prohibition of first-cousin marriage and marriage between affines. Historical review of statutes reveals a trend from Biblical to Western American patterns. The historical perspective suggests that confounding the two models may have weakened Heider's analysis.