The Ford Focus Uses Recycled Materials

To find out what happens to discarded household carpets, old jeans or empty bottles, take a closer look at the Ford Focus.

Ford's innovative hatchback is spearheading a comprehensive European recycling campaign, which has created over 300 separate parts formed with recycled material and diverts around 20,000 tonnes away from landfill each year.

Valentina Cerato, materials engineer at Ford's Dunton Technical Centre, Essex, said: "Ford's approach is guided by its Product Sustainability Index, including sustainable material and substance management. The index covers recycled materials and the use of natural fibres, which continue to replace plastics in Ford components."

Ford's material researchers at Dunton Technical Centre, Essex, develop components from recycled material while ensuring no compromise to quality, durability or performance.

Recycled components in the current Ford Focus include:

• Heater and air conditioner housing made from 25 per cent recycled plastics
• Replacement bumpers made from 20 per cent recycled bumpers
• Interior carpets made from 20 per cent recycled carpet material
• Battery tray made from 50 per cent mixed recycled plastics
• Wheel arch liners made from up to 100 per cent recycled polypropylene
• Air cleaner assembly made from 25 per cent recycled plastics
• Fabric seat option made from 100 per cent recycled material
• Roof lining, parcel shelf, instrument panel, insulation and sound-proofing materials include recycled textiles

Sources for this recycled material are everyday items as diverse as plastic bottles, bottle tops, computer and TV housings, compact discs, household carpets and even denim jeans. The noise insulation in all Ford vehicles is made from jeans and reclaimed car seat upholstery.

Ford is also stepping up research into plastics, rubber, foam, film and fabric, to develop more alternative bio-based materials that are functional, durable and cost-effective in order to decrease dependence on oil-based products. While petroleum and glass fibres are typical ingredients in automotive plastics, Ford researchers are developing all-new materials that include more natural ingredients such as soy flour, hemp and cellulose. Test results show that natural fibre-reinforced plastics can reduce weight by up to 30 per cent.

Ford material experts are also working with a biodegradable plastic called polylactic acid (PLA), derived from the sugars in corn, sugarbeet and cane. A plastic part made from PLA can biodegrade after its life cycle in just 90 to 120 days, compared with 1,000 years in a landfill for a traditional, petroleum-based plastic. Ford believes potential automotive applications for PLA include textile applications for vehicle carpeting, floor mats and upholstery and interior trim pieces that are injection moulded. More immediate possibilities include using PLA for manufacturing applications such as in protective wraps used during vehicle transit.

In working on the environmental impact of Ford interiors, engineers have considered protecting occupants from potentially health-threatening allergic reactions.

All materials touched by the Ford Focus driver - such as the steering wheel, seat covers and seat belts - are dermatologically tested, while high-performance air filters prevent allergic pollens from entering the cabin.

In addition to the Ford Focus, eight other Ford models have been allergy tested: Fiesta, Fusion, Focus, C-MAX, Kuga, Mondeo, S-MAX and Galaxy. They have been independently verified by international test authority TUV. Ford is the only manufacturer to have its cars' interiors confirmed as allergy friendly.