Around half the cars scrapped in the UK each year are not recycled as required by European rules on end of life vehicles (ELVs), according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

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The SMMT says its members have put in place measures to facilitate recycling and ensure an 85% recycling rate as required by the EU’s ELV directive. However, around 1m vehicles a year (or half of those that leave the vehicle parc in a given year) are evading the necessary depollution, material recovery and reporting.


The SMMT says that this is because the last keeper (UK bureaucrat-speak for ‘registered owner’) is allowed to deregister a vehicle without having to take any further action.


According to UK government department for business enterprise and regulatory reform (BERR) data released by the SMMT, around 900,000 cars were scrapped and issued with certificates of destruction or notices of destruction in 2006. Most of these would have been recycled according to the legislation, although later this week, BERR is expected to show that recycling rates fell slightly short of 85%, because of small dismantlers who are failing to recover materials other than the 75% metal content.


Although the system does appear to be working for some cars, the SMMT estimates that the actual number of cars leaving the vehicle parc in 2006 was between 1.8 and 2m. This means 900,000-1.3m vehicles did not go through approved recycling procedures.

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The SMMT wrote a joint letter with other parties involved in the ELV legislation, including the motor vehicle dismantlers’ association, to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) raising their concerns in December 2006.


The DVLA and BERR have not yet responded to requests for more information.


BERR will publish data on the UK’s ELV recycling performance in 2006 on its website later this week. This will form part of the UK’s reporting requirements in accordance with the ELV directive.