End of Life Vehicle regulation clarifies scrap car rules
Following lengthy negotiations, motor manufacturers have welcomed the news that End of Life (Producer Responsibility) Regulations 2005 have been laid before parliament. The rules clarify what manufacturers must do to provide free take-back of End of Life Vehicles (ELV) from 1 January 2007. They also set targets for the recycling and reuse of materials from scrap cars.
Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ chief executive, Christopher Macgowan, said, ‘The regulation presents a challenging framework for vehicle manufacturers but we are determined to meet our obligations under the new rules. The own-marque scheme, where each producer takes responsibility for ensuring there are facilities to take-back their vehicles, is a common sense approach. It is the simplest and most cost-effective solution for vehicle makers and most convenient for last owners.’
Key points clarified by the regulation are:
- Producers must submit their network plan for Authorised Treatment Facilities (ATFs) and/or collection points to DTI by 31 August 2005
- Networks must be operational by 1 January 2006, with free take-back obligation commencing 1 January 2007
- The nearest ATF must be on average within 10 miles of 75 per cent of owners, and within 30 miles of all owners
- Producers will not be responsible for costs of transporting to an ATF but may offer greater flexibility in remote locations
- Producer responsibility for free take-back extends only to vehicles which are presented at ATF as complete and free of other waste materials
- Personal importers will assume responsibility for grey imports
- 85 per cent of vehicles by weight must be recycled or reused, with targets to be monitored by SMMT and DTI, based on certificates of destruction
- Responsibility for brands with no current producer (orphans) will be the subject of further consultation between the industry and Secretary of State
