Since November 2004, vehicle recyclers that meet new European environmental protection standards have been issuing Certificates of Destruction on any cars de-polluted for recycling.
 This red Ford Sierra became the 50,000th car to be issued with a Certificate of Destruction, stating that it had been scrapped to UK environmental protection standards |
As an Authorised Treatment Facility, Autobreakers must remove all fluids, batteries and other hazardous materials from the vehicles before they can be shredded under the End of Life Vehicles regulations.
The ATF issues a CoD as evidence of a vehicle's depollution, which then allows the Drivers and Vehicles Licensing Agency to take the vehicle off its list of motor vehicles on the UK roads.
Commercial manager Alasdair Jackson said: “A few days ago, we were filling out a Certificate of Destruction for an old Ford Sierra when we saw the certificate number – 050000050000. In other words, it was the fifty thousandth vehicle to be issued with a Certificate of Destruction in line with the DVLA's approved codes of practice.”
Recycling
Autobreakers, a trading name for Preston Recycling Ltd, has processed about 3,000 vehicles over the last six months, recycling about 85% of the 2,250 tonnes of material processed.
Mr Jackson said: “Collectively, businesses like ours save huge amounts of waste from going to landfill each year but it's only when you sit back and think about the numbers that you really appreciate the scale of the national recycling effort.”
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As well as recovering metal and plastics, the company also operates an extensive salvage facility, in which all serviceable parts are stripped out of a vehicle, entered onto a database and then made available for sale to the public either via the company's website or over the counter.
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