European recyclers wary of higher ELV dismantling costs

As the European Commission prepares to unveil its comprehensive End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) Regulation, dismantlers are questioning who will pick up the bill for recovering more components from ELVs.

Although the proposals are not due to be published for at least a week, some of the elements were heavily trailed at the recent International Automotive Recycling Congress (IARC) in Geneva. As reported in Recycling International, an annexe to the regulation setting out storage and handling, depollution and reporting will also cover the removal of specific, named, components for recycling, reuse or remanufacturing. Policy official Jaco Huisman told delegates the Commission ‘wants to see increased quality in recycling and collecting’.

Among those at the event was Emmanuel Katrakis, secretary general of EuRIC, the umbrella organisation for recycling groups in Europe. Afterwards, he told RI that an element often overlooked in dismantling and removal obligations was who pays for the additional related costs.

‘Up until now, 88% of the costs linked to ELV recycling were born by car recyclers, as acknowledged in a study made for the European Commission,’ he points out. ‘With additional obligations, these costs are likely to climb and will thus impact both carmakers and recyclers.’

Katrakis insists additional obligations are kept strictly proportional. ‘Recyclers have made huge investments into shredding and post-shredding technologies to increase quality while remaining competitive. This should be to incentivise, not the other way round.’