End of Life Vehicles
End of Life Vehicles (ELV), regulations come into force
The ELV Regulations are designed to implement the EU Directive on end-of-life vehicles in Ireland and have been operative since January 2007.
The Regulations place heavy obligations on manufacturers and importers of cars and vans ("producers" under the Regulations), who are required to put in place a national system for the collection and disposal of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs). An ELV is a car or van which is discarded or is to be discarded by its registered owner. Each producer’s system must consist of at least 43 Authorised Treatment Facilities (ATFs - 1 per functional area of local authority where the population of the functional area is less than or equal to 150,000 with supplemental facilities for each additional 150,000 persons). Producers are required to register with each local authority on 21 July 2006 and must apply for renewal of registration on 31 January each year. Each application for registration must be accompanied by the following:
The registered owners of the ELV may not be charged where the ELV is deposited at the authorised treatment facility unless essential components of the vehicle are missing. Indeed, where the ELV has no or a negative market value, the producer is responsible for meeting the costs of treatment and recovery of the ELV. When an ELV is deposited at an ATF, a Certificate of Destruction will be issued to the registered owner. The ELVs must be treated within 10 days of deposit at the facility.
Where a waste facility wishes to become an ATF, it must meet specific environmental standards relating to the storage, treatment and recovery of ELVs as well as holding a waste licence or waste permit. There are special provisions made for ATFs which do not form part of a producer’s national system for the collection of ELVs. These must maintain records of aggregate weights in relation to reuse, recycling, recovery and disposal.
Producers must use component and material coding to facilitate identification of components that are suitable for reuse and recovery and must make dismantling information available for each type of new vehicle put on the market within 6 months of the vehicle being put on the market in Ireland, although these obligations only apply where more than 500 vehicles are produced in a particular series.
Finally, it should be noted that the penalties under the Waste Management Act apply i.e. a maximum of €3,000 fine and/or 12 months imprisonment in the case of a summary conviction and a maximum fine of €15,000,000 and / or 10 years imprisonment in the case of a conviction on indictment.
Read more on the ELV regulations from the Department of the Environment and The EPA.
Click here to find your nearest ATF facility.