ARA at the Wheel Latest News and Reports from ARA

Hawaii Legislation Has Dangerous Implications for Recycled Parts Utilization

RA submitted a memo of opposition on behalf of automotive recyclers regarding legislation currently being de- bated in the Hawaii state legislature that could have a harmful impact on the utili- zation of recycled OEM automotive parts in the state. House Bill 1620 focuses on the fees passed on to vehicle owners by insurance companies when consumers elect to use new OEM parts rather than other replacement parts options, like recycled or aftermarket. The legislation would prohibit such fees in any instance where the auto manufacturer recom- mends that only new OEM parts be used for repair work. Current state statute prohibits such fees when required by the manufacturer and by watering down that language to instances when the manu- facturer simply recommends new OEM parts be used over other replacement part options, H.R. 1620 sets a dangerous precedent.

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The bill was debated by members of the Hawaii House Intrastate Commerce Committee which ultimately recom- mended that a task force instead be convened to study the issue. The state’s Department of Commerce and Consum- er Affairs would oversee the proposed task force, which would be comprised of various stakeholders from the insurance, repair, and replacement parts industries. ARA member LKQ Corporation tes- tified at the hearing against the bill and ARA’s memo of opposition was refer- enced by the Committee Chairman. The state’s Insurance Commissioner Gordon Ito also testified in opposition because his office couldn’t see any “obvious benefit to consumers” and that consumers were protected under current law. The legisla- tion has since been updated to propose a Vehicle Repair Practices Task Force.

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Takata Saga Continues R

estitution and bankruptcy issues continue to dominate the ever expanding faulty Takata airbag issue including Takata paying the automakers many, many millions of dollars. More than 60 companies will be paid a total of $850 million by Takata as part of court-mandated restitution. • Honda will receive $126 million • General Motors will receive $90 million • Fiat Chrysler will receive $53.8 million • Ford Motor will receive $45.3 million As a result of the airbag safety fiasco, Takata declared bankruptcy and is in the process of being bought by a Chinese company, Key Safety Systems. A U.S. Court battle will continue shortly on the issue of Takata exiting bankruptcy, pitting the airbag maker against representatives of individuals injured by the airbags and some unsecured creditors. No matter the result, a trust will be established for those injured by the airbags or families of the deceased. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), only about 21.1 million of the 50 million defective airbags have been repaired. Many millions more airbags are expected to be recalled in coming years.

ARA Signs Mercury Switch Program Extension MOU

RA joined with the Steel Manufac- turers Association, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) and the American Iron and Steel Institute in signing a Memorandum of Understand- ing (MOU) extending the National Ve- hicle Mercury Switch Recovery Program (NVMSRP) which was set to expire on December 31, 2017.

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Extension of the 2006 MOU promotes the removal and safe disposal of mer- cury switches from end-of-life vehicles. Since the NVMSRP began, over 6.5 mil- lion mercury convenience light switch- es, containing over 7 tons of mercury, have been handled within this program. ARA adopted a position similar to that of ISRI that is predicated on certain conditions before being signatory to the MOU. The fund supplies recyclers with buckets to collect the switches, covers the cost of shipping and indemnifies the recyclers once the switches are packaged

and shipped. The ARA position stipu- lates these conditions going forward until expiration in December 2021. While diminishing in number, there are still thousands of mercury switches being collected as part of the Federal Na- tional Vehicle Mercury Switch Recovery Program and in 2017 a total of 215,513 were collected. That total was only slightly lower than the total of 245,881 collected in 2016. Below are the totals for each year since the program’s inception: 2007 - 720,636 2008 - 973,366 2009 - 896,232 2010 - 630,906 2011 - 711,109 2012 - 698,993

2012 - 698,993 2013 - 542,894 2014 - 516,157 2015 - 331,238 2016 - 245,881 2017 - 215,513

As previously reported, ARA was a signatory to the 2006 National Vehi- cle Mercury Switch Recovery Program Memorandum of Understanding, which recently extended the Federal program through 2021.

March-April 2018 • AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLING