Automotive Industry Trends

Green Light for End of Life Vehicles Directive

According to the Commission of the European Community, between 8 and 9 million tons of waste are generated annually by end of life vehicles. Some 25% of the vehicles' weight is hazardous waste. Shredding of these wastes releases Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), heavy metals, petroleum, motor and gear oil, hydraulic fluids, brake fluids and anti-freeze into the environment. The shredding residue from vehicles represents about 10% of the total amount of hazardous waste generated annually in the entire European Union.

A relatively new European Communities Directive - "Directive of the European Parliament (EP) and of the Council on End of Life Vehicles" (EEC/2000/53), essentially says that an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) is required to reclaim and recycle old cars and trucks. The directive is aimed at the prevention of waste disposal from vehicles by encouraging re-use, recycling and other forms of recovery of end-of-life vehicles and their components.

The Directive, available from Global Engineering Documents, was officially adopted by the EP and Council in September 2000, and requires that:

• All EC member countries pass their own legislation calling for OEMs to set up reclamation centers where consumers can leave their junk vehicles.
• The reclamation centers have to dismantle the old vehicle and ensure that most of the vehicle's content is re-used, recovered or recycled.
• No later than January 1, 2006, the re-use and recycling of end-of-life vehicles shall be increased to a minimum of 80%, with plans to go as high as 85% by 2015.
• For vehicles produced before the year 1980, member states have lower targets, equal to at least 70%.
• The Council will review the targets before December 31, 2005, with expectations that the targets will be made more stringent following review.

These new laws have made a huge impact on U.S. automobile manufacturers and suppliers. In order to continue to compete globally, the U.S. has become very interested in life cycle thinking. Ideas like design for the environment and design for disassembly have become common in the industry.

End of life vehicles should no longer be a source of pollution and a waste of resources. This new directive makes vehicle dismantling and recycling more environmentally friendly, sets clear quantifiable targets for reuse, recycling and recovery of vehicles and their components and pushes producers to manufacture new vehicles with a view to their ability to be recycled.