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Vehicle dismantlers push for government to back credit scheme

The only way to ensure end-of-life vehicles enter a regulated system under European directive rules is to make sure the vehicles have a value to the last owner, says the Motor Vehicle Dismantlers Association.

The comment comes following the preparation of a detailed proposal to the government by the association which contains plans for compulsory de-registration of vehicles with an automotive recycling credit scheme. The UK is currently trying to resolve how it will implement the End-of-Life Vehicles directive which requires higher levels of vehicles to be recycled.

Chairman John Hesketh said: “The MVDA recognises from first hand knowledge the difficulties surrounding the responsible disposal of end-of-life vehicles. For the directive to be successfully implemented in the UK it is imperative that there is an incentive for the last owners to take the environmentally correct option for disposal.”

Mr Hesketh says that vehicle dismantlers are the gatekeepers for such as system because they are the point where vehicles being disposed of are still recognisable. This means, he added, that the vehicles' entry into the system can be recorded and the can be tracked to their ultimate destruction.

Shredder industry

The MVDA paper comes as the shredder industry through the British Metals Federation is pressing government hard to ensure that it is the major player in any system to regulate end-of-life vehicles.

In its paper, the MVDA highlights the ever increasing problem of abandoned vehicles in the UK and the cost of their disposal by local authorities. This it says illustrates the inadequacy of the current vehicle licensing and de-registration system on several counts:

  • There is no statutory requirement to provide proof of notification of change of ownership. As a result, it is possible to claim that a change of ownership has been notified by post and the new owner (whose name and address has been lost!) is now responsible for the vehicle.
  • There is no requirement to prove the existence of the purchaser of the vehicle
  • The Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) system does not represent a cost to the owner, and does not require any proof that the vehicle in question is still in existence. Thus a vehicle can be registered for SORN, but be disposed of outside official channels. The burden of SORN once a year would be negligible and would disappear with a change of address.
  • The pursuit of last owners who abandon vehicles is expensive and usually fruitless. Even if a last owner can be found, they frequently do not have the funds to pay any imposed fines.
  • As the value of scrap steel has fallen, the market for ELVs has moved from positive to negative. Where once vehicle dismantlers and scrap merchants would buy ELVs, now in many cases they require payment to accept and dispose of them.

So, the MVDA suggests two options for the government to follow:

Option 1
To introduce a compulsory deregistration. The MVDA warns against this as it will be expensive as it requires major changes to the existing system. Such an approach, says the association, would also be costly to run. Plus it notes common acceptance of a substantial black economy on the edges of the motor trade where paperwork is at a minimum and all transactions are in cash. Administrating this would be very difficult and costly.

Continued on page 2

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