The first facility under the Circular Factory initiative will open at TMUK's existing Burnaston car assembly plant in the third quarter of 2025. Toyota expects it to become a centre of excellence for future recycling operations across Europe and globally.
Toyota Circular Factory will operate in three main areas:
- Parts Reuse - once inspected, some components will be returned to the marketplace through retailers or parts distributors.
- Recovery and recycling - batteries and wheels will be assessed for reuse or recyclability.
- Material recycling - copper, aluminium, steel and plastic will be recycled to produce new parts to replace virgin materials as much as possible.
In the first phase in the UK, Toyota plans to:
- Recycle 10,000 vehicles annually
- Remanufacture 120,000 parts
- Recover 300 tonnes of plastic
- Save 8,200 tonnes of steel
According to Leon van der Merwe, Toyota Motor Europe's vice president of circular economy, the company plans to expand this approach to the whole of Europe and is willing to co-operate with other companies that share the principles of environmental responsibility.
The initiative will run in parallel with the core operations of TMUK's Bernaston plant for the production of Toyota Corolla cars.
Toyota Motor Europe has committed to becoming fully carbon neutral by 2040 and achieving carbon neutrality at all of its facilities by 2030. By 2035, Toyota aims to achieve a 100 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions across its entire European product line-up.
Source: Toyota
