Automotive Articles - The Basics of Car Recycling in the UK


by DANIEL COLLINS - Date: 2009-10-14 - Word Count: 483 Share This!

If you've ever wondered what happens to old or out-of-use cars, you're not alone. With all the cars being driven on UK roads - and about 2 million cars reaching the end of their life per year - it's a valid point to ask where they all go when they become too old or broken down to drive.

Many people sell their cars when they want a new or replacement vehicle. But even second-hand cars have a limited lifetime if they're used on a regular basis.

The answer is increasingly found in car recycling. In 2004, the European Union approved a Directive, specifying that vehicles could not be broken up for their parts - for scrap metal, for example - until any contaminant parts, liquids and gases were removed. In 2005, the UK implemented its own legislation, called the End of Life Vehicle (ELV) Directive, which ensured that as much of a vehicle was recycled as possible, while still ensuring that hazardous materials were dealt with properly. The directive's target is currently o have 95 per cent of ELV vehicles recycled by 2015.

But there are very specific processes to car recycling, which all car owners should be aware of. The entire process starts at an Authorised Treatment Facility (ATF), where the vehicle can be "de-polluted" before it's recycled for its parts. Remember that only an ATF facility is legally allowed to receive your vehicle and to issue a Certificate of Destruction to the DVLA, who can then remove your vehicle from their database and relieve you of legal and car insurance cover responsibility for the vehicle. You can also go through a junkyard or scrap metal yard, which would pay you upfront for the vehicle, then send the vehicle to an ATF before breaking it up for parts. After de-pollution, all the car's parts and materials are ready for recycling.

So why recycle your car? To begin, it's good for the environment. Certain car parts - such as some types of metals - can be melted down and reused. Also, when you recycle your car, you can be sure that hazardous fluids and materials such as oil, gas, antifreeze and brake fluid will be disposed of in an environmentally sound manner. In addition, many people who recycle their cars take advantage of a tax deduction eligibility - also applicable if you donate your vehicle to a charity. And finally, recycling your car is simple. You often only have to drive it to an ATF, or you can call to have it picked up. With all the advantages to recycling a vehicle, it simply makes sense to take all the necessary steps towards recycling when your car reaches the end of its life.

Daniel Collins writes on a number of topics on behalf of a digital marketing agency and a variety of clients. As such, this article is to be considered a professional piece with business interests in mind.


Related Tags: car insurance, car insurance cover, car recycling, car recycling uk, how to recycle a car, car disposal

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