Chris Davies, the Lib Dems' environment spokesman in the European Parliament, is accusing the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) of turning a blind eye to “dodgy dismantlers” flouting environmental controls on the recycling of scrapped cars.
 Lib Dem MEP Chris Davies has issued a formal request to the Commission to prosecute the UK for flouting the ELV Directive |
He said the Swansea-based agency was maintaining a loophole that allows dismantlers to avoid issuing Certificates of Destruction (CoD) against end-of-life vehicles.
Mr Davies said the move put millions of car owners at risk of prosecution for failing to hold a CoD after scrapping a vehicle.
CoD
Under the Directive – enforced in the UK by the ELV Regulations – require end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) to be recycled with the minimum of environmental impact.
To show that hazardous components and materials from ELVs have been dealt with correctly, last owners must obtain a CoD from fully licensed treatment facilities. The CoD is intended to prove that road tax is no longer liable on the vehicle.
However, Chris Davies said today that the DVLA allows last owners to tick a box on their vehicle registration form to state that they have scrapped their car themselves. This, he claimed, means they need no CoD.
“Dodgy dismantlers”
“If car owners are not issued with a CoD, they cannot be sure the vehicle dismantler has been properly registered, that their car will be dismantled safely, or that the environment will be protected,” Mr Davies said.
He added: “The entire scheme is undermined if dodgy dismantlers can simply tick a box on the log book, avoid their responsibilities and let oil and brake fluids wash down the nearest drain.”
Mr Davies is an MEP for the North West of England, where the Environment Agency has been cracking down on unlicensed vehicle dismantlers (see letsrecycle.com story).
He said Britain's 1,200 authorised treatment facilities were expected to issue about 500,000 CoDs this year, and that as many as 1.5 million ELVs would be dismantled without the documents.
Commission
Mr Davies said the DVLA was “out of control”, and revealed that he has issued a formal request to the European Commission to start legal proceedings against the UK for an infringement of European law.
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He said: “Behind the scenes I know that officials at the Department of Trade and Industry are tearing their hair out at the failure of DVLA to amend its procedures. This is not an example of joined-up government, the Agency is out of control.”
The Lib Dem MEP said he had contacted the DVLA's national helpline requesting details on how to scrap an old car. He said: “The reply did not even mention Certificates of Destruction, yet the law has been in place for more than three years.”
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