Under regulations currently progressing towards Parliament, motor manufacturers will be responsible for the recycling of vehicles they have placed on the market. Until 2007, this will only include vehicles placed on the market after July 2002, but from 2007 manufacturers' responsibility will include all vehicles.
The new regulations will see manufacturers carrying out their responsibility by setting up networks of Authorised Treatment Facilities (ATFs) to reach targets for their ELVs including a recycling rate of 85% by 2015.
Although the exact details of the final set of ELV regulations are yet to be enshrined in UK law, manufacturers are already beginning to discuss with dismantlers in regard to setting up their ATF networks. The BMW deal with Charles Trent, which will include BMW and Mini models, marks the first major announcement of an agreement between vehicle producers and recyclers.
Commenting on the deal, Charles Trent's environmental business manager Dr Charles Ambrose, said: “We've had dialogue with BMW for some years now, and I'm absolutely delighted that we've now managed to finalise arrangements.”
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Charles Trent, one of the first dismantlers to invest in meeting standards required of ATFs in the UK, is based in Poole, but also has treatment facilities in London and Kent. The company handles about 15,000 ELVs each year and is aiming to expand into a national network, with new sites coming online by the end of the year in Essex, Nottinghamshire and Teeside.
The company is also looking for more sites around London and the Midlands, said Charles Trent's managing director Marc Trent.
The UK is the second largest production market for the BMW Group, which has been a key player in the manufacturer-recycler consortium, CARE.
Dr Ambrose said: “From my point of view, we could not have a better partner. BMW is a premium motor manufacturer and this reflects our desire to be seen as the UK's premier vehicle recycler.”
For more on new end of life vehicles recycling regulations, see the letsrecycle.com ELV section.
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