Combatting waste crime

Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles, includes rules favouring the prevention of waste from used vehicles as well as their recovery. Such rules aim at the limitation of the use of hazardous substances in vehicles and their reduction as far as possible from the conception of the vehicle on “so as in particular to prevent their release into the environment, make recycling easier, and avoid the need to dispose of hazardous waste.” The design and production of new vehicles must thus “take into full account and facilitate” the dismantling, reuse and recovery of used vehicles as well as the integration of an increasing quantity of recycled materials in vehicles and other products. Heavy metals, including lead, mercury, cadmium or hexavalent chromium are ruled out, but for strictly specified uses (Article 4).

The collection of ELVs must be ensured by “economic operators”, which inter alia includes for the purposes of the Directive producers, distributors but also “other treatment operators of end-of-life vehicles” (Article 2(10)). Such economic operators must set up systems for the collection of all end-of-life vehicles, their transfer towards collection facilities adequately available within a Member State’s territory, and then to an authorised treatment facility. A certificate of destruction shall be issued, which is a prerequisite for the deregistration of the end-of-life vehicle.

The delivery of the vehicle to such an authorised treatment facility “occurs without any cost for the last holder and/or owner as a result of the vehicle having no or a negative value” (Article 5). It is for the producers to meet all or a significant part of the costs of such a system or to directly take back their end-of-life vehicles (Case C-64/09 European Commission v French Republic), and this acts as an enticement to them to prevent or limit the production of waste as early as at the design phase.

Such end-of-life vehicles and used parts are then “transferred to authorised treatment facilities”. The Member States must take all necessary measures to ensure the adequate availability of such collection facilities within their territory, and that such collection facilities deliver certificates of destruction which are a condition for deregistration of the end-of-life vehicles (Article 5).

The delivery of an ELV to such an authorised facility must occur “without any cost for the last holder and/or owner as a result of the vehicle’s having no or a negative market value.” It is for the producer to bear such costs or, alternatively, to take the ELV back directly (Article 5(4)).

Illegal treatment and disposal of ELVs is of paramount importance at European level, since ELVs produce annually between 8 and 9 million tonnes of waste in the EU . In addition to this, export of second-hand cars is a growing feature of the European car market and that the second-hand trade does mask some illegal activities, such as the export of wrecked or stolen cars. A significant number of cars are being scrapped by unlicensed operators who remove the economically desirable parts. Some cars are abandoned rather than properly scrapped.