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March 2005
Old bangers mashed for free
New regulations introduced for recycling of end of life
vehicles
London— Car manufacturers will in the future have to take back cars from consumers and ensure that more of the waste from scrap cars and light vans is recycled rather than landfilled, following new Government regulations announced in February.
The End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Regulations 2005, establish new responsibilities for vehicle manufacturers and professional importers to:
• By 2006, put in place collection networks to take back their own brands of vehicles, when those vehicles reach the end of their lives;
• From 2006, ensure that value is recovered from 85% of the weight of their ELVs (95% from 2015); and
• From 2007, provide “free take-back” to last owners, who present their ELVs for scrapping at collection networks
The Regulations apply to passenger cars and light vans.
Energy Minister Mike O’Brien said: “About two million cars and vans are scrapped each year in the UK. by ensuring that more are recycled through convenient take-back facilities, these regulations will benefit the environment and ought to be good news for car owners.” The “own brand” system, which is strongly supported by vehicle manufacturers, introduces the principle of “producer responsibility”, complements existing market arrangements for vehicle dismantling, salvage, shredding and recycling, and provides convenience to the last owner in disposing of their vehicle.