Current recycling regulations and technologies for the typical plastic components of end-of-life passenger vehicles: a meaningful lesson for China

China became the largest automotive producer and the biggest automobile market in the world in 2009, but the scrap vehicle recycling industry is still in its beginning stage. Especially, the scrapped plastic parts recycling technology lags behind developed countries. Therefore, in-depth studies on the recycling of automotive plastics are significant and beneficial for environmental protection, energy conservation and the sustainable development of the Chinese automotive plastic industry. In this article, automotive plastic components recycling-related rules and regulations about developed countries and China are discussed first. According to the passenger vehicle plastic part types, the recycling technologies for typical plastic components of end-of-life passenger vehicle are analyzed comprehensively. Based on the combination of contemporary domestic and foreign plastic recycling technology and the result of the current research, the problems and future development for the ELVs plastic recycling industry in China are deliberated, at the same time, some constructive ideas and suggestions for the industry are provided.