OBJECTIVE: the proposal for a directive aims at the ecological disposal of car wrecks, so that all new vehicles are completely recyclable by 2015.
CONTENT: this proposal, which is based on the polluter pays principle, seeks to prevent the creation of scrap from vehicles, to promote the re-utilization, recycling and recovery of cars and car parts and to reduce the quantity of scrap from vehicles taken off the road and dumped or incinerated with no energy recovery.
The main elements of the proposal are as follows:
a) Prevention:
- manufacturers and suppliers of materials and equipment must make an effort to reduce the use of dangerous substances, if possible by integrating this objective at the vehicle design stage;
- heavy metals (lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium) contained in vehicles placed on the market after 1 January 2003 must not be crushed, dumped or incinerated. They must either be recycled or eliminated from new vehicles;
- the Commission will examine the scientific data on PVC and, if necessary, will submit proposals on the matter (because the elimination of PVC by incineration causes serious problems).
b) Collection:
- economic operators must set up a system for collecting all vehicles taken off the road; from 1 January 2000, all vehicles must be taken to licensed processing centres;
- deregistration of a vehicle at the end of its life will only be possible on presentation, by the last owner to date, of a certificate of destruction confirming that the vehicle was taken to a licensed dismantling and processing installation. These installations will only obtain a license if they meet certain environmental requirements;
- owners of non-recyclable vehicles may claim the cost of taking their vehicle to a professional dismantling installation from the manufacturer;
- in order to facilitate the movement of vehicles, provision is made for the Member States to mutually recognize and accept the certificate of destruction issued by another Member State.
c) Re-utilization and recovery: in order to prevent the production of waste, vehicles taken off the road must comply with quantitative re-utilization, recycling and recovery criteria: by 2005, the rate of re-utilization/recovery must be 85% of the weight of the vehicle and the rate of re-utilization/recycling must be 80%; by 2015, the rate of re-utilization/recovery must be 95% and the rate of re-utilization/recycling 85%. Objectives beyond 2015 have yet to be set.
d) Information: vehicle manufacturers must supply information on the rate of re-utilization, recycling and recovery achieved during the past year. This information must be verified by the Member States.�