Welcome to the letsrecycle.com end-of-life vehicles recycling section.

In the UK, about 2.2 million vehicles come to the end of their lives each year. Currently between 75-80% of the materials (by weight) in an end-of-life vehicle (ELV) are recycled in this country.

Under the European ELV Directive, producers of vehicles are being made responsible for achieving certain recycling targets as well as environmental standards for the storage and treatment of ELVs.

The then-Department of Trade and Industry introduced the first set of UK ELV regulations in late 2003. These introduced design standards for vehicle manufacturers and environmental standards for the dismantling, recycling and disposal of ELVs by authorised treatment facilities (ATFs).

The second set of UK ELV regulations came into force on February 9, 2005. These outlined requirements for vehicle manufacturers to fund the collection and recycling of 85% of their end-of-life vehicles by joining one of two service providers. These service providers – Autogreen and CarTakeBack – each offer a network of ATFs where vehicle owners can return their ELVs free of charge for recycling.

And, since 2006, the UK and all other EU member states have been expected to reach a national recycling, reuse and recovery target of 85%. Subject to review by the Commission this will rise to 95% in 2015.

The landfilling of waste whole tyres was prohibited in July 2003 under the EU Landfill Directive, with shredded tyres banned from landfill in July 2006. The UK is seen as having a well-developed infrastructure for diverting tyres from landfill and ensuring their reuse in areas as diverse as sports ground surfacing and fuel for cement kilns.

To follow letsrecycle.com coverage of the UK's progress in carrying out the demands of the ELV Directive, click on the dates below:

June 2010: The Tyre Recovery Association has launched a new awareness campaign promoting the recyclability of tyres.

May 2010: Conservative MP Mark Prisk has been handed a ministerial portfolio that gives him responsibility for ELVs.

April 2010: Vehicle manufacturer Peugeot Citroen has outlined exactly how it is working to increase recycling and recovery of its vehicles.

November 2009: EMR plans to build a recycling and gasification facility in the West Midlands which would be one of the UK's largest facilities dealing with ELV post-shredder residues.

November 2009: The metals recycling sector has called on government to introduce a landfill tax relief scheme to encourage metal recycling companies to invest in technologies to recover ELV post-shredder residues.

September 2009: The government has announced a £100 million increase to the vehicle scrappage scheme.

July 2009: The UK narrowly missed the 85% ELV recycling target for 2007, figures published the Department for Business have revealed.

April 2009: Metals recyclers have welcomed plans unveiled in the Budget to introduce a vehicle scrappage scheme in May 2009.

February 2009: A joint venture between metals recycling giant EMR and plastics recycling company MBA Polymers plans to develop a facility to reprocess plastics from ELVs at a site in Nottinghamshire.

December 2008: BERR has expressed "real concern" over the proper disposal of scrap vehicles following the sharp fall in metals prices.

October 2008: Vehicle dismantlers have warned that major falls in metals prices could trigger a dramatic increase in the number of vehicles left abandoned on streets.

August 2008: The Department of Business has claimed the UK is "well-placed" to meet its future ELV recycling targets, despite confirming that it failed to meet the EU's 85% target for 2006.

May 2008: The UK needs more facilities for recycling post-shredder material if UK car recyclers are to meet their ELV recycling targets, an industry figure has claimed.

April 2008: Car manufacturers met their first UK recycling targets for ELVs in 2006, but the UK looks to have missed its overall 85% goal, the Department of Business has revealed.

February 2008: The equivalent of a serious oil spill is damaging the UK environment every year, because thousands of cars are not being recycled properly according to metal recycler Sims Group.

January 2008: A "major step forward" in the recycling of plastics from end of life vehicles (ELVs) has been announced by metal recycling giant EMR.

January 2008: The European Commission has announced plans for a sweeping shake-up of European law, procurement and standards in sectors including the ELV recycling sector.