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End of Life Vehicles

Directive 2000/53/EC
Waste Management (End-of-Life Vehicles) Regulations 2006
Producer Obligations
Authorised Treatment Centre Obligations
Local Authority Responsibilities
Vehicle Owner Obligations
Further Information 

Directive 2000/53/EC

European Parliament and Council Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles sets out specific measures to be put in place by Member States in relation to the collection, storage, treatment, dismantling, reuse and recycling of end-of-life vehicles.  Under the Directive, each Member State is required to:

  • achieve new recovery and recycling targets of
     - 85% reuse / recovery by average weight per vehicle deposited for appropriate treatment by 1 January 2006 (to include 80% materials recycling), and
     - 95% reuse / recovery by 1 January 2015 (to include 85% materials recycling);
  • ensure that all end-of-life vehicles are dismantled, treated and recovered by industry at no cost to the final holder / owner of that vehicle and in a manner that does not cause environmental pollution;
  • introduce systems whereby certificates of destruction are notified to the competent vehicle registration authorities on the deposit of end-of-life vehicles by their registered owners at authorised treatment facilities for appropriate treatment and recovery; and
  • minimise the use of specified hazardous substances in vehicles.

Further Commission Decisions, Council Decisions and related research on end-of-life vehicles may be accessed on a dedicated webpage established by the Commission at:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/waste/elv_index.htm


Waste Management (End-Of-Life) Regulations 2006

Enabling legislative provisions were incorporated into the Protection of the Environment Act 2003 - which inserted a new part VA in the Waste Management Act 1996 - to facilitate the transposition and implementation in Ireland of this important Directive.  Following a period of public consultation, the Waste Management (End-of-Life Vehicles) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 282 of 2006) were made and came into effect on 8th June 2006.  The regulations fully transpose the provisions of Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles and are intended to facilitate its implementation in Ireland.

Producer Obligations

The Waste Management (End-of-Life Vehicles) Regulations 2006 place obligations on producers - vehicle manufacturers and professional importers :

  • to establish national collection systems for the recovery and treatment of end-of-life vehicles.  Typically, an end-of-life vehicle will be a passenger car or a light commercial van that the registered owner wishes to dispose of as waste.  From 1 January 2007 owners of intact end-of-life cars and vans can deposit them free-of-charge at authorised treatment facilities.  An exception to the free take-back principle is provided where a vehicle is missing its essential components or where waste has been added to the vehicle.
  • each producer's national collection system is required to have at least one authorised treatment facility in every city and county council area that will provide free take-back for vehicles of that producer's brand or for which that producer has responsibility.  Producers are required to have additional authorised treatment facilities in place in those counties and cities with a larger population base (i.e. one additional facility for each additional 150,000 persons in the relevant county or city).
  • Each producer is required to register with each local authority and to provide specified information to the local authorities to accompany their registration.  
  • to ensure that the materials and components of specified vehicles do not contain lead, mercury, cadmium or hexavalent chromium other than in cases specified in the Fourth Schedule of the regulations and that technical documentation must be made available by the producer to verify compliance with these requirements
  • to compile and maintain appropriate documentation, for a period of seven years, to verify that the materials and components of vehicles are in compliance with the provisions of the regulations.
  • each producer, in liaison with vehicle material and equipment manufacturers, use component and material coding standards to facilitate the identification of those components and materials which are suitable for reuse and recovery
  • Producers are also obliged to make available to authorised treatment facilities dismantling information for each type of new specified vehicle put on the market in Ireland within six months of these vehicles being put on the market in Ireland
  • keep records of the aggregate weight of materials for reuse, recycling, recovery and disposal arising from end-of-life vehicles and report to local authorities on an annual basis

The regulations also introduce new environmental standards to ensure that when a vehicle is scrapped, as much material as possible is recovered and recycled and that it takes place in a way that does not harm the environment – prescribed targets for reuse / recovery and reuse / recycling are required in accordance with the provisions of Directive 2000/53/EC.

Authorised Treatment Centre Obligations

Obligations are also imposed on all authorised treatment facilities to

  • ensure that such facilities operate under a waste license, or as appropriate, a waste permit and
  • meet the minimum technical requirements for the -

      • storage (including temporary storage) of end-of-life vehicles prior to their being the subject of appropriate treatment and recovery,
      • appropriate treatment and recovery of end-of-life vehicles,
      • storage of components containing fluids, recoverable components and spare parts.

  • keep records of the aggregate weight of materials for reuse, recycling, recovery and disposal arising from end-of-life vehicles and report to local authorities on an annual basis.

From the 1st January 2007 and onwards, on the deposit of an end-of-life vehicle at an authorised treatment facility for appropriate treatment and recovery, the owner or operator of that facility shall

  • issue a Certificate of Destruction to the registered owner, an authorised person of a local authority or a member of An Garda Síochána and
  • all relevant information relating to that certificate of destruction shall be noted on the National Vehicle File.  
  • No charge may be imposed by the authorised treatment facility on the registered owner of the end-of-life vehicle in respect of the Certificate of Destruction.

Local Authority Responsibilities

Under the regulations, local authorities are responsible for the enforcement of all relevant provisions relating to the permitting of authorised treatment facilities, and where appropriate, producer responsibility provisions concerning the administration of the system of producer registration.

Vehicle Owner Obligations

An obligation is also imposed on vehicle owners, where the registered owner of a specified vehicle intends to discard that vehicle as waste, he or she is required to deposit that vehicle at an authorised treatment facility for appropriate treatment and recovery.

Further Information

Further information on the Waste Management (End-of-Life Vehicles) Regulations 2006 may be obtained from the Department's –
Waste Prevention & Recovery Section,
Custom House,
Dublin 1,
Tel: 00 353 (01) 888 2708 / 888 2606 / 888 2777
Fax: 00 353 (01) 888 2994

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