Why Toyota City matters
Toyota headquarters and bZ series battery engineering. Active names in and around the city include Toyota, Denso.
OEM head offices and engineering centres produce prototype and validation packs, recall and warranty returns routed through central teams, and programme fleet retirements. Volumes are lumpy but the packs are often high-value and come with full engineering data.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Serving site | Yokohama — Kanagawa Diagnostics Works (Cell Grading & Diagnostics) |
| Pickup SLA | 36 hours |
| Coverage radius | 128 km |
| Collection cadence | Called off against a framework agreement |
| Regulatory framework | Act on the Promotion of Effective Utilization of Resources and the End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling Act |
How collection works here
We work under a framework take-back agreement with the OEM's central sustainability or aftersales team, covering pricing methodology, EPR certificate transfer and confidential handling of prototype hardware, including destruction certificates where required.
Loads move in Class 9 compliant transport with pre-filled dangerous goods paperwork to Yokohama, Kanagawa, where they are weighed, logged and graded.
- OEM sustainability and aftersales teams
- Engineering and validation centres
- Programme and demo fleets
- Recall coordination teams
What the rules require in Japan
Japan relies on manufacturer-led take-back. Small rechargeable batteries are collected through an industry scheme, and lithium-ion batteries removed from end-of-life vehicles are recovered through programmes run by automakers within the vehicle recycling system. Processors need waste management licences from prefectural governments.
Lithium-ion batteries move as dangerous goods under national road and marine rules, with UN 3480 / UN 3481 packaging.
- Route packs from end-of-life vehicles through the automaker take-back network
- Use processors licensed by the prefecture
- Keep transfer records under the vehicle recycling system
- Follow export controls for battery waste under Basel implementation law
Field note
What you get paid and what you file
Settlement is quoted per pack after measured state of health, not by guesswork on age. Modules holding 75% or more of rated capacity settle at second-life rates; the remainder settle against black mass metal content.
Certificates carry achieved recovery percentages and downstream vendor disclosure for reporting under Act on the Promotion of Effective Utilization of Resources and the End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling Act.