BMW reported a 51% “recycling rate” from dead cars thanks to new sorting and smelting techniques applied to the brand’s own cars (thank you George!)

51% of BMW materials are of high enough quality to go right back into production with no discernible difference in quality from newly manufactured ones. 

For reference, the current industry figure is just 6% from testing materials from 433 dead cars across 60 different models. 

To achieve the massive increase in recyclability, BMW engineers pushed beyond the industry’s current shredding and bulk material recovery processes. 

Engineers also followed output streams to see which of its recycled materials could begin life anew as BMW parts rather than heading downstream to lower-quality parts or other industries.

https://www.mensjournal.com/auto/bmw-says-it-can-turn-dead-cars-back-into-new-bmw-parts