More clarity demanded over UK’s ‘ghost’ cars

United Kingdom – Some 1.7 million cars are scrapped in the UK each year but up to 500 000 of them ‘escape official statistics’, according to recycler Remove My Car. Measures should be taken, it argues, to ensure that these end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) don’t fade from the public eye.

The recent Scottish Cash Ban and the EU′s revised ELV recycling targets represent ′significant improvements′ for the sector, contends Remove My Car′s managing director Steve Queen. However, true statistical accuracy will not be achieved until the UK government sets limits on how long a car can remain in the trade and V5C vehicle logbooks are updated to support the EU-wide 95% ELV recycling target.

′When a car is sent to be recycled there is no specific section in the V5C that acknowledges when, where and why it was recycled instead of salvaged or exported,′ Queen points out. ′By updating the logbook, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will have a clearer idea of where vehicles sold for scrap are in the recycling chain and we won′t have so many ′′ghost vehicles′′ that have fallen off the radar.′

Queen also calls for more clarity surrounding who is responsible for the Certificates of Destruction (CODs) and exactly how many ELVs are being recycled ′properly′ in the UK.

For more information, visit: www.removemycar.co.uk

Source: Waste Management World