The government looks set to approve an approach in the coming weeks that will help end of life vehicle (ELV) recyclers to meet the 95% vehicle recovery target, set to come into effect in 2015.
The Environment Agency has revealed that it has agreed an approach with Defra that would see incineration of shredder residues classed as a recovery process, if it is disposed of in a facility that matches the efficiency of a municipal waste incinerator.
The Agency is now in the process of agreeing its definition with members of the ELV recycling industry.
Shredder residue is comprised of the plastic, foam, textiles and wood left over at the end of the ELV recycling process, which vehicle dismantlers claim is very difficult to recycle.
Talks
Ian Hetherington, director general of the British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA), revealed that he has been involved in the talks with the government and the Agency, which are now at an advanced stage.
The BMRA has long argued that in order for the UK to meet the compulsory target to recycle 95% of material from end of life vehicles, incineration of shredder residue will need to be classed as a recovery process, rather than disposal as is currently the case.
The organisation has lobbied the government since 2010 to have the classification changed, and is now hopeful that an agreement will be reached in the coming weeks.
Speaking to letsrecycle.com, Mr Hetherington said: This has been an ongoing discussion for just over two years, we have moved quite a long way and we are in the midst of some constructive discussions. We are hoping the issue will be resolved in the next few weeks.
We are providing more evidence so the ball is in our court, we are hoping to get round the table with the Environment Agency shortly. The arguments are technical, and we are hoping to reach a satisfactory agreement on the definition of recovery.
The industry is up and ready and all that we are waiting for is a definition of recovery that is achievable.
Target
To date, the UK has not met the 85% recycling target for ELVs, with the latest available figures showing that it posted a total recycling, recovery and reuse rate of 84.69% in 2009.
In January, it was revealed that the UK may have been further behind the ELV recycling target than previously thought, as it had allowed for 1% of a vehicles weight to be counted as recovered to account for the weight of residual fuel likely to be left over in the tank, an allowance that is not accepted by the EU.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) informed ELV recyclers that as of 2012, residual fuel would no longer be counted toward recovery targets, meaning that previous reported recovery rates may have 1% been higher than the actual amount recycled (see letsrecycle.com story).
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