UK Beats Target for End of Life Vehicle Recycling

Recently, the news broke that the UK has seen a jump of over 6% in its End of Life Vehicle (ELV) recycling and recovery performance. This means that it has exceeded the target of 95% set by the European Union. The most recent figures which have been released by the European Commission demonstrate that the UK’s 2015 ELV recycling performance rose to an overall recovery rate of 96.9%, up from 90.7% in 2014.

In this article, the Hill Metal Recycling team will look at this achievement, and the directive itself, in greater detail.

What is ELV recycling?

The End of Life Vehicles Directive is a directive put forward by the European Union in order to address the end of life for all automotive products. Each year, vehicles which have reached the end of their useful lives create between 8 and 9 million tonnes of waste in Europe. Consequently, in 1997, the European Commission felt like it was necessary to put measures in place to halt this.

While the directive aims at the reduction of waste arising from end-of-life vehicles, the scope of the directive is limited to passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, and covers aspects along those vehicles life cycles such as the following:

• Preventing the use of certain heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, mercury and hexavalent chromium
• Collecting vehicles at suitable treatment facilities                                                                                                
• The de-pollution of fluids and specific components                                                                                             
• Coding and/or information on parts and components
• Ensuring information for consumers and treatment organisations
• Achieving reuse, recycling and recovery performance targets

ELV recycling across the EU

When looking at how other countries performed across the EU with respect to ELV recycling, the UK performed exceptionally, second only to Croatia, who achieved a staggering recycling rate of 99.5%. Italy, on the other hand, was the lowest with a recycling rate of 84.7%.

At Hill Metal Recycling we pride ourselves on the fact that we are the leading recycler of ferrous and non-ferrous metals throughout Harlow, Hertfordshire and the surrounding areas. We are widely qualified, experienced and also affiliated with the DVLA and the Environment Agency. As such, we are able to appropriately handle and dispose of all types of scrap metal. We also offer a 24-hour scrap collection service for commercial and some domestic needs. So, to discuss recycling your scrap metals, don’t hesitate to contact our friendly team today!