Proposal for a Council Directive on end of life vehicles
Date: 1997-07-09
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: environmental policy, motor vehicle, single market, waste management, waste recycling

COMMISSION  OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 09.07.1997 
COM(97) 358  final 

97/0194 (SYN) 

Proposal for a 
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 

on end of life vehicles 

(presented by the Commission) 

EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

I. 

Introduction 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

The  Council,  in  its  Resolution  of  7  May  19901  on  Waste  Management  Policy, 
invited  the  Commission  to  establish  action  programmes  for  particular  types  of 
waste. Member  States identified,  inter alia, end of life vehicles as a waste stream  to 
be  addressed  in  this  respect.  In  the  context  of  the  "Priority  Waste  Streams 
Programme"  the  Commission  in  1991  set  up  a  project  group  on  this  issue. 
Representatives of all relevant  economic operators, non-governmental  organizations 
the  Commission 
(NGOs),  several  national  administrations  and  services  of 
participated.  The  Group  proposed  a  "strategy"  to  the  Commission  in  1994.  This 
strategy  suggested  that  actions  be  taken  at  the  appropriate  level:  the  Community, 
Member  States,  economic  operators.  The  strategy  suggested  a range  of  regulatory 
measures, inter alia at Community level, and a range of complementary actions. The 
project  group agreed that a legislative proposal should be  formulated. 

The  European  Parliament,  in  its  Resolution  of  14  November  1996  (A4-0364/96) 
asked the Commission to present Proposals on a number of waste streams, including 
end  of  life  vehicles,  and  to  base  such  Proposals  on  the  principle  of  producer 
responsibility. 

This  Proposal  is  inspired  by  the  above  mentioned  "strategy",  particularly  by  the 
aspects related to the management  of end  of life vehicles which were recognized  to 
need  Community  legislation.  The  Project  Group  has  identified  the  need  to  take 
action at  the level of prevention  (design  of new  vehicles),  collection,  treatment,  re 
use, recovery and monitoring. Most of these actions must necessarily be regulated at 
Community  level,  and  therefore  must  form  part  of  a  regulatory  Proposal  from 
the Commission. 

This Proposal  contains also elements which have not been addressed  by the  strategy 
of  the  project  group.  The  justification  of  these  elements  is  included  in  this 
explanatory memorandum. 

Several  waste  streams  have  already  been  regulated  at  Community  level  (e.g.  waste 
oils,  batteries  and  accumulators,  packaging  waste,  PCBs  and  PCTs,  sewage 
sludges).  This Proposal  is  consistent  with  the  sectorial  approach  to  waste  streams 
followed  so far by the Community. 

Community legislation on end of life vehicles should take the form  of a Directive  for 
many reasons. There is a need to  ensure legal and long-term  investment  certainty  to 
economic  operators.  Only  a  Directive  can  ensure  that  all  actors  of  the  automotive 
chain  (such  as  vehicle  manufacturers,  material  producers,  dismantlers,  shredders, 
recyclers,  etc.)  take  the  necessary  responsibility  to  achieve  the  below-described 
environmental  objectives,  and that  all such actors are duly represented  in the bodies 
taking  part  in  the  decision  making  process.  The  large  number  of  actors  makes  it 
impracticable  use voluntary  agreements  as  a  general  tool  in the  implementation  of 
this  Proposal.  Furthermore,  only  a  legally  binding  common  European  framework 

O J N oC  122,  18.5.1990. 

will  avoid  the  arising  of  varying  initiatives  at  national  level  which  may  result  in 
higher  overall  costs  for  the  economy  and  in  trade  and  competition  distortions. 
Moreover,  several  harmonization  measures have been  adopted  in the vehicle  sector 
at  Community  level in order to  facilitate  the well functioning  of the internal  market 
and  it  is  not  desirable  to  exempt  the  end  of  life  vehicles  phase  from  a  consistent 
harmonization process. Finally,  several Provisions of this Proposal create rights and 
obligations  for  individuals  which  must  necessarily  be  of  a  legally  binding  and 
enforceable  nature. 

7. 

Initiatives in the form of environmental agreements, covenants or  self-committments 
at national level have been set up by economic  operators  in certain Member  States. 
These initiatives will be able to  continue to  exist.  However,  as they  do  not  comply 
with  the  provisions  of  this  Proposal,  they  will  have  to  be  brought  in  line with  the 
contents  of this Proposal  and  will have to be  complemented  by the necessary laws, 
regulations  and  administrative  provisions which Member  States will have to  take in 
order  to transpose this Proposal  into national legislation.  Negotiated  agreements  as 
such will not be sufficient  to fully comply with the contents of this Proposal. 

8.  National  initiatives  such  as  negotiated  agreements  may  therefore  co-exist  with 
legislative  measures.  In addition  economic  operators  will be  fully  capable  to  resort 
to  negotiated  agreements  or  voluntary  committments  in  order  to  facilitate  the 
achievement  of the environmental objectives  of this Proposal, to promote  objectives 
which go  further  than those  contained  by this Proposal  or to  achieve the  objectives 
of the Proposal within shorter periods of time than those foreseen  in this Proposal. 

II.  The problems addressed  in this Proposal 

9.  Vehicles  which  reach  their  end  of  life  phase  and,  consequently,  are  discarded, 
represent  an  important  source  of  waste  generation,  which  has  a  direct  polluting 
effect.  Between 8 and 9 million vehicles are discarded yearly in the European Union, 
that is about  8 to 9 million tonnes of waste created per year.  This figure  is bound to 
increase  in  the  future  due  to  the  increased  number  of  vehicles  put  on  the  market 
every year.  Some 25% of the vehicles weight  (the so called  "shredding residues") is 
hazardous  waste  which  today  is  landfilled,  often  contaminating  the  soil  and 
groundwater.  This fraction,  which amounts to about  1.9  million tonnes of waste per 
year,  represents up to  10% of the total amount of hazardous waste generated  yearly 
in  the  EU.  This  Proposal  focuses  mainly  on  this  fraction  waste  from  of  end  of 
life vehicles. 

10.  Furthermore,  although  precise  figures  are  not  available,  it  has  been  estimated  that 
the  percentage  of  end  of  life  vehicles  abandoned  in  the  environment  reaches,  in 
certain Member  States,  7% of end of life vehicles. Abandoned  car wrecks  represent 
a degradation of the environment  and a net financial  loss for  society. 

11.  DismantUng  operations  often  cause  a  significant  environmental  hazard.  Collected 
end  of life vehicles are brought  to dismantling facilities  which remove the parts that 
can  be  sold  on  the  second  hand  market.  The  remaining  wrecks  are  then  put  into 
shearing  and  shredding  facilities.  The  metallic  fractions  are  separated  from  the 
non-metallic  fractions.  The  metallic  fractions,  both  ferrous  and  non-ferrous,  which 
amount to about 70-75% of the total weight of the vehicle, are generally  sold on the 
scrap  metal  market  and  recycled.  The  shredding  activity  is  a  source  of  pollution 
(in particular  shredding  facilities  cause  emissions  into  the  atmosphere  of PCBs  and 

heavy  metals,  discharge  into  water  of  organic  substances  and  heavy  metals  -  lead, 
cadmium,  copper,  zinc  and  nickel,  discharges  into  the  soil  of  the  same  hazardous 
substances  as  well  as fire hazard).  The present  methods  of  removing  and  handling 
hazardous elements and fluids are mainly designed to meet  safety  standards prior to 
shredding but  are not  sufficient  to  avoid the  diffusion  of hazardous  substances  into 
the environment. 

12.  The  residues  from  shredding  (25-30%  of  the  vehicle  weight),  which  consist  of  a 
heterogeneous mix of materials such as plastics, rubber, glass, textile, paint, oils and 
lubricants,  paper  end  cardboard  are  usually  landfilled.  These  residues  contain 
significant  quantities  of  hazardous  substances,  such  as  polychlorinated  byphenyls 
(PCBs)  and  heavy  metals  as  well  as  various  fluids  (petrol,  motor  and  gear  oils, 
hydraulic fluids,  brake fluids, anti-freeze),  which  are  particularly  hazardous  for  the 
environment.  A  number  of  vehicles  carry  air  conditioning  systems  with 
chlorofluorocarbon  (CFCs) and  airbags with explosive  components which may also 
present  a hazard  for  the environment  and for  the treatment  facilities  where they  are 
dismantled  and  shredded.  Consequently,  shredder  waste,  as well  as  oil  waste  from 
vehicles  is  considered  to  be  hazardous  waste  by  international,  Community  and 
national waste legislation. 

13. 

In  total,  automotive  shredder  waste  from  end  of  life  vehicles  amounts  to 
approximately  2  million  tonnes  per  year  and  represents  approximately  60%  of  the 
overall  weight  of the  shredder  residues (the  other  sources  are  mainly  white  goods, 
brown goods, other electrical and electronic goods). 

14.  End  of  life  vehicles  are,  like  all  wastes,  goods  in  the  sense  of  Article  30  of  the 
Treaty.  With  a view  to  creating  an  internal  market  which  is  not  endangered  when 
products become waste, waste  management  operations  and  requirements  should  be 
harmonized.  Furthermore,  vehicle  dismantling  and  recycling  is  also  an  important 
economic  activity,  which  involves  a  large  number  of  small  and  medium  sized 
companies.  In order for  this activity to be carried  out  in the absence  of  competition 
distortions,  the  requirements  for  this  activity  have  to  undergo  a  certain  level  of 
harmonization at Community level. 

15.  Today the economic situation in relation to the management  of end of life vehicles is 
not  satisfactory.  In the  past  the  existence  of  markets  for  second-hand  components 
and  scrap  metal  made it  profitable  to  treat  end  of  life  vehicles  and  to  achieve  high 
rates  of recovery  of the  metal  fraction.  However,  in  recent  years,  the  situation  has 
changed, mainly due to the greater use of non-metallic parts in the manufacturing  of 
"vehicles,  the  rise  of  disposal  costs  for  non  recyclable  materials  (particularly  for 
hazardous  wastes)  and  the  dropping  of steel  prices.  As a result,  the  profitability  of 
recycling end of life vehicles is uncertain. Vehicles are often  exported to be scrapped 
to  countries  where  disposal  prices  are lower.  Considerable  quantities  of  end  of  life 
to  Central  and 
vehicles  are  sold  as  "second  hand"  cars 
Eastern European  countries  as  well  as  developing  countries.  As  an  example,  it  is 
estimated  that  in  1995  70%  of  end.  of  life  vehicles  arising  in  Germany  were 
exported,  mainly  to  the  Netherlands,  France  and  Poland.  Export  of  end  of  life 
vehicles  from  Germany  to  the  Netherlands  is  creating  serious  problems  to  the 
viability  of the  system  set  up  by the industry  for  the  recycling  of Dutch  end  of  life 
vehicles  and  is  also  undermining  the  business  of  vehicle  dismantling  and  recycling 
in Germany. 

in  particular 

16.  Whereas  export  of  second-hand  products  and  of  recoverable  waste  is  not" in 
principle  contrary  to  Community  legislation,  it  is  important  to  look  at  the  ratio  of 
recoverable/non  recoverable  waste.  In  particular  since  end  of  life  vehicles  are 
complex objects, which contain both parts which are recovered  and parts which  are 
disposed  of,  it  is not  always  possible  to  state  whether  the  fraction  of  recoverable 
waste  in  and  end  of life  vehicle  is higher than  the  non-recoverable  fraction.  Waste 
must  be  disposed  of  within  vthe  Community,  and  Member  States  should  move 
towards  self-sufficiency  for  disposal  individually,  as  is  provided  for  by  existing 
Community  legislation  on waste.  At  least  until the  recovery  of  end  of life  vehicles 
significantly  increases, it is opportune that trade of end of life vehicles be as much as 
possible 
the 
Basel Convention  encourages  the  minimization  of  shipment  of  hazardous  waste  in 
general  and  the  Parties  to  the  Convention  have  decided  to  prohibit  exports  of 
hazardous  waste,  both  for  recovery  and  for  disposal,  from  OECD  to  non-OECD 
Countries because the latter do not have appropriate treatment  facilities  and  control 
mechanisms.  Several types of waste contained  in end  of life vehicles are  considered 
hazardous waste by the Basel Convention  (e.g. light fraction from shredding,  heavy 
metals, waste  oils, PCBs  and  PCTs)  and their  export  to  non-OECD  Countries  will 
therefore be prohibited. 

limited.  These  principles  are  also 

internationally 

recognized: 

17. 

In  several  Member  States  end  of life  vehicle treatment  operations  are  often  carried 
out  without  any  control  by  public  authorities.  Only  a  small  share  of  treatment 
operators are duly authorized.  The market for  spare parts is often  organized  outside 
normal  commercial,  administrative  and  fiscal  rules.  There  is  an  urgent  need  for 
regulatory measures in this respect,  and in order to preserve the unity of the internal 
market these regulatory measures should be taken at Community level. 

18.  The treatment  of end of life vehicles could represent  a powerful  source of  economic 
profits  if  appropriate  measures  are  taken,  particularly  at  Community  level,  to 
encourage  the  development  of infrastructure  for  the  collection  and  recycling  of the 
non-metallic fractions.  The cost connected with the recycling of plastic components, 
which is one  of the causes  of reduced  profits  for  the  industry  of end of  life  vehicle 
recovery,  would  be reduced  as this infrastructure  is set  up  and  markets  for  the  use 
of recycled materials are developed. 

DDL  The Fifth  Action  Programme 

19.  The Community programme  of pohcy and action in relation to the environment  and 
sustainable  development  ("Fifth  Action Programme")  states that  the  achievement  of 
sustainable  development  calls  for  significant  changes  in  current  patterns  of 
development,  production, consumption  and behaviour. Furthermore, it advocates, in 
order inter alia, to reduce wasteful  consumption of natural resources and to prevent 
pollution,  the  elaboration  of  concept  of  life-cycle  management  of  products  and 
processes,  particularly  in relation to waste management.  Changes in the  production 
of vehicles (in order to have vehicles which are easy to dismantle and recycle), in the 
behaviour  of  vehicle  owners  (in  order  to  ensure  that  vehicles  are  handed  over  to 
authorized  facilities)  and  of  vehicle  dismantlers/recyclers  (in  order  to  ensure  that 
treatment  operations  are  done  by respecting  the  environment)  are  among  the  main 
objectives of this Proposal. 

20.  As regards waste management aspects, this Proposal aims at drastically reducmglhe 
final  quantity  of  waste  arising from vehicles,  putting  in  practice  the  principle  of 
Miai  4ud.n1.uy  ui  wasie  a n t i ng  u um 
prevention of the generation of waste. 
prevention of the generation of waste 

21.  More  specifically,  the  "Fifth  Action  Programme"  contains  an  entire  chapter 
dedicated to waste management issues (section 5.7), in which end of life vehicles are 
mentioned  as one of the normative target  areas, in view of the  application  of the 
principles of prevention, recovery and safe disposal of waste. 

IV.  Environmental objectives 

22.  The environmental objectives of this Proposal are to protect soil, water and air  from 
end of life vehicles treatment operations, to avoid of the generation of waste and to 
reduce the harmfulness  of waste from vehicles for  the  environment.  These broad 
environmental objectives are to be achieved by means of a wide range of measures, 
including measures on the design and production  of less wasteful  vehicles,  on the 
collection of end of life vehicles, on treatment of end of life vehicles in view of their 
re-use and recovery.  A further  objective is to  reduce the risks of  non-recoverable 
wastes being shipped from Member States with high environmental requirements to 
countries with lower requirements. 

23.  Most of the environmental problems generated  by end of life vehicles derive  from 
the  fact  that  vehicles  are  not  designed  and  produced  with  a  view  to  their 
dismantling, recycling and recovery.  Therefore  there is a need  in this Proposal  for 
provisions which have a direct influence  on the way new vehicles will be designed 
and produced in the future. 

V. 

Internal market and economic objectives 

24.  The main objective to be achieved in this respect is to establish a coherent approach 
to  end  of life vehicle  management  between Member  States.  The current  situation 
creates  several problems. Firstly,  although  different  conditions  for  waste  recovery 
and disposal are not per se to be considered  necessarily  distortions  of the internal 
market, the cost of treatment of end of life vehicles varies to such an extent, due to 
different  technical  requirements  in  the  Member  States,  that  competition  between 
economic operators in the internal market is distorted.  Secondly, technical barriers 
to  trade  may  arise  from  different  management  systems.  The  conditions  for 
discarding  of end  of life vehicles in one Member  State may not be possible to be 
complied with by vehicles imported from another Member  State. It  is desirable to 
- set  up  a  Community  regulatory  framework,  since  in  the  absence  of  Community 
legislation,  technical  regulations  which  hinder  the  internal  market  are  forbidden, 
except when they  are justified  by mandatory  requirements  (such  as environmental 
protection), do not discriminate towards imported products and are proportionate to 
the  objectives  to  be  achieved.  Thirdly,  the  presence  of  different  policies  of 
Member States concerning waste management and in particular the recovery of end 
of  life  vehicles,  implying  different  costs,  could,  in  certain  conditions,  hamper  the 
effectiveness  of  national  recycling  policies,  as  end  of  life  vehicle  trading  induced 
through  cost  differentials  could  occur  (this  is  already  happening  today  in  certain 
Member States). 

25.  From the economic point of view, the non recovery of an important  fraction ~of end 
of  life  vehicles  is  also  a  net  loss,  and  valuable  resources  are  wasted.  It  has  been 
estimated  that  several  thousands  of  new jobs  could  be  created  by  setting  up  the 
infrastructure  necessary  to  comply  with  the  objectives  of  this  Directive.  More 
detailed information  on this point is provided in the business impact  statement. 

VI.  Economic assessment 

26.  There  are  several  environmental  benefits  related  to  the  establishment  of  a  system 

which will ensure a safe treatment and recovery of end of life vehicles. 

27.  First, 

the 

from 

amount 

residues 

shredding 

to 
to  10%  of 

vehicles 
is  equivalent 

approximately 
total 
2 million tonnes/year  of  waste.  This 
hazardous waste  produced  yearly  in  the  EU.  Shredding  residues  are  classified  as 
hazardous  by the  waste  shipment  Regulation  (259/93)  and  many  of  the  elements 
contained  in it are  classified  as  hazardous  by  the  Basel  Convention.  Shredding 
residue is also  now  being  considered  for  inclusion  on the  EU  hazardous  waste  list 
(Council Decision 94/904/EC). The disposal of shredding residues is a major  source 
of contamination  of soil, water  and air. End  of life vehicles  contribute to  60.3% of 
the  total  shredding  residues.  Reducing  the  quantity  and  the  hazardousness  of 
shredding  residues  coming  from  end  of  life  vehicles  therefore  will  have  a 
considerable  positive  impact  on  the  total  generation  of  shredding  residues  and 
therefore  on  the  environment  Secondly,  the  proposal  will  help  avoid 
the 
contamination  caused  by  vehicles  being  dumped  in  nature  and  soil  and  water 
contamination  by  dismantling  and  shredding  operations.  In  particular,  shredding 
activities  release  toxic  substances  into  the  environment  (PCBs,  heavy  metals). 
Thirdly,  reducing  the  amount  of  waste  will  also  result  in  saving  landfill  capacity. 
According  to  the new Proposal  for  a Directive on the landfill  of waste,  co-disposal 
of  hazardous  with  non-hazardous  waste  will  be  prohibited,  therefore 
landfill 
capacities  for  hazardous  waste  will  decrease.  Fourthly,  better  energy  savings  will 
follow  from  this  Directive.  The  advantages  of  recycling  over  disposal  and 
incineration  with  energy  recovery  have been  clearly  shown  by  a  several  studies.  In 
particular,  a  study  by Delft  University  comparing  recycling  and  energy  recovery  of 
the  plastic  fraction  of  end  of  life  vehicles  showed  that  ten  times  more  energy  is 
saved  by recycling than by performing  energy  recovery.  This is mainly because,  by 
incinerating  plastics only a small part  of its intrinsic energy  can be used  to  produce 
electricity,  whereas  a  large  quantity  of  energy  is  necessary  to  manufacture  a 
saved  when  components  are  recycled  instead 
new component.  This  energy  is 
of incinerated. 

28.  The  achievement  of  higher  recycling  targets  will  create  new  jobs,  mainly  in  the 
dismantling  industry.  Dismantling  is  a labour  intensive  industry,  made  up  of  small 
and  medium-sized  enterprises.  According  to  Dutch  sources  (Auto  Recycling 
Nederland  BV),  the  Directive  will  immediately  create  between  10 000  to  15 000 
additional jobs.  Transport  and  recycling  activities  related  to  ELV  management  are 
also  likely  to  create  further  new  jobs.  German  sources  (ADA  -  Association  of 
vehicle recyclers) estimated that  100 000 additional jobs could be created in the EU. 

29.  The costs  associated  with  the  Proposal  relate  primarily  to  the  establishment"ofthe 
necessary  infrastructure  and  industrial  schemes  to  ensure  the  compliance  with  the 
objectives  of  the  Directive.  The  present  experience  shows,  however,  that  the 
proposed  targets  for  re-use,  recovery  and  recycling  of  end  of  life  vehicles  are 
technically and economically feasible. 

30. 

It will naturally take time before the recycling industry for end of life vehicles is fully 
developed.  At  this  initial  stage  therefore  the  degree  of  economic  viability  will 
depend  on  case-specific  conditions.  However  projects  undertaken  by  several 
producers  show  that  the  targets  proposed  for  the  year  2005  are  already 
economically  viable today.  Targets  for  2015 will become viable in the  future  along 
with to the development  of innovative environmentally  friendly  materials and  design 
of  vehicles  and  in  pace  with  the  development  of  markets  for  recyclâtes.  In  this 
respect,  several  producers  have  already  started 
the 
manufacturing  of new vehicles. 

to  use  recyclâtes  for 

VII.  Situation in the Member States 

31.  Following  the  work  of  the  Project  Group  in  the  context  of  the  "Priority  Waste 
Streams  Programme",  or  in  parallel  with  this  work,  economic  operators  in  some 
Member  States  have  committed  themselves,  or  reached  agreements  with  national 
authorities,  in  order  to  improve  the  environmental  situation  in  relation  to  the 
management  of  end  of  life  vehicles.  Some  of  these  agreements  were  formalized 
before the Project  Group delivered its recommendation to the Commission.  Broadly 
speaking,  three  different  groups  of  Member  States  can  be  identified:  those  where 
end  of  life  vehicles  are  not  addressed  by  specific  action;  those  where  economic 
operators took the initiative on their own to  improve the  situation; and those where 
economic  operators  concluded  with  government  agreements  which  are  backed  by 
(existing or in fieri)  legislation. 

32.  The  systems  set  up  in  the  different  Member  States  to  reduce  the  disposal  of 
waste  from  end  of  life  vehicles  vary  considerably  as  regards  their  content,  the 
year of  achievement  of  the  targets,  the  period  of  time  covered  and  the  nature  of 
the commitments.  Therefore 
line  with  a 
European Framework,  so that  overall waste management  costs can be reduced,  the 
internal  market  for  vehicles  is  not  disrupted  and  trade  and  competition  distortions 
will not arise. 

to  be  brought 

they  have 

in 

33.  The German  initiative  aims at  a reduction  of end  of Ufe vehicle disposal to  15% by 
•2002  and  5%  by  2015.  The  Italian  initiative  aims  at  recovering  85%  of  vehicles 
weight  by  2002  and  95% by  2010.  Industry  in France  and  Spain  aims  at  ensuring 
that, by 2002, new models may be reprocessed to generate final waste not exceeding 
10%  of  the  total  vehicle  weight,  but  this  depends  on  the  state  of  reprocessing 
techniques  and their cost-effectiveness  when new models are marketed  and is based 
on the  assumption  that  sufficient  progress  will  have been  made in these  techniques 
by that time. The Austrian industry aims at  80% recycling and 95% recovery,  but it 
is not  specified  by which year these targets  should  be  attained.  The Dutch  industry 
agreed  to  re-use/recycle  86%  by  2000.  Industry  in  the  United  Kingdom  aims  at 
reducing the automobile shredder residues by 40% by 2002 and 80% by 2015. 

34.  The German agreement will come into effect  only after  complementary legislation is 
adopted.  The Austrian  agreement  came into effect  in January  1996 and covers an 
unlimited period of time. In France and Spain the agreements cover a period up to 
the  year 2000.  No  date  of  this  kind  is  included  in  the  British  agreement.  In  the 
Netherlands,  legislation  on the fee to be paid  when a new vehicle  is- purchased  is 
valid until January 1998. 

35.  Except  in  a  few  cases,  take-back  schemes  are  either  not  included  at  all  in  the 
national  agreements  or  do not  have any  significant  content.  The Netherlands and 
Sweden  set  up  systems  which  are  based  on  fees  paid  when  the  new  vehicle  is 
purchased  and premiums paid to recyclers and which provide for  a free of charge 
take back  scheme. These are the only two cases of take-back  schemes backed by 
national  legislation.  In  Italy  FIAT  has  set  up  a  system  which  allows  for  free  of 
charge take-back of end of life vehicles. German industry agreed to take back free 
of charge only end of Ufe vehicles which  are more than  12 years  old,  provided  a 
number of other conditions (such as that the vehicle must have been intended for the 
German market or have been admitted in Germany at least six months before being 
discarded  and that the vehicle compUes with certain technical requirements  set out 
by the industry itself)  are met. In Austria vehicle owners are entitled  to free take-
back  only  if a  new vehicle  is purchased  at  the  same time.  In  France,  the United 
Kingdom and Spain this issue is not addressed. 

36. 

In  the  Netherlands  and  in  Germany  the  systems  are  meant  to  function  only  if 
accompanied  by  complementary  legislative  measures.  In  Italy  the  need  for  an 
intervention  of  public  authorities  is  directly  advocated  by  the  industry,  which 
recognizes that, in order to extend the work carried out as pilot projects at national 
scale,  the  support  of  public  authorities  is  indispensable.  Swedish  authorities  are 
preparing  legislation  introducing  producer  responsibility  for  end  of  life  vehicles. 
Belgian  authorities  are  also  working  on  a  legislative  Proposal  in  line  with  the 
existing Dutch model. 

37.  Finally,  considerable  differences  exist  also  as  regards  the  control  mechanisms 
set up to  monitor  the  results  of  the  national  initiatives  and  it  is  in  general 
unclear which  party  is  in  charge  of  monitoring  progress  towards  reaching  the 
various commitments. 

38.  These activities certainly represent an improvement  with respect to the past. Their 
results should therefore  be preserved and further  encouraged. However, the results 
achieved to date with the above-described initiatives in the end of life vehicle sector 
are not sufficient  to confront the environmental and the internal market dimension of 
the  problems.  This is  also  a  consequence  of the  fact  that,  none  of  the  voluntary 
agreements include measures which, by nature, require the intervention of legislators 
(for example the certificate of destruction for deregistrating vehicles and the permit 
requirements for treatment facilities). None ofthe agreements are able to ensure that 
the envisaged  quantified  targets wiU be met, and the other  commitments complied 
with. Also the problem of "free-riders"  cannot be solved by the agreements. Finally, 
voluntary  actions  have  been  started  only  in  a  number  of  Member  States 
(in particular  those  where  vehicles  are  produced),  and  there  is  no  evidence  that 
similar actions will be  started  in the  other  Member  States  in a  reasonable  period 
of time. 

VIII. Developments at international level 

39.  End of life vehicles are also considered by the OECD as one ofthe  priority areas  for 
action in order to minimize waste. A working group on this waste stream was set up 
and  its  report  discussed  at  an  international  Seminar  held  in  Washington  in  March 
1995.  Most  of  the  measures  advocated  by  the  Project  Group  set  up  by  the 
Commission  are  also  present  in  the  OECD  report,  reduction  of  hazardous 
components  in  new  vehicles,  reduction  of  non-recyclable  components,  re-use, 
recycling  and  other  forms  of  recovery  (in  particular  by  decreasing  the  number  of 
polymers  in plastics, and  by  marking  components  as to  facilitate  the  dismantling  of 
end  of  life  vehicles).  Among  the  possible  poUtical  orientations,  the  OECD  report 
lists the maximum re-use of re-usable components, the maximum recycling of metals 
and  plastics  and  the  reduction  of  pollution  generated  by  treatment  operations. 
Among the  options to be taken into account  to  achieve these objectives,  the  report 
mentions  recycling  standards,  market  incentives,  levies  and  taxes.  The  report  has 
also  recognized  the  need  to  take  into  account  the  risk  of  generating  market 
distortions in developing national strategies on end of life vehicles. 

40.  Most  of  the  elements  contained  in  this  Proposal  intended  to  encourage  the 
widespread  development  of recycling  are  also advocated  by the US  Environmental 
Protection  Agency.  In particular,  the EPA has identified  the following  strategies  to 
promote  the  recycling  of  the  plastic  fractions  of  end  of  life  vehicles:  promote 
"design-for-dismantling" 
collection 
infrastructure;  promote economical  dismantUng methods, particularly  improving  the 
systems  for  the  identification  of  recyclable  materials;  encourage  "fair"  competition 
between  raw  materials  and  recycled  materials.  It  is  doubtful  however  how  these 
strategies could achieve any results if not implemented via legislative measures. 

recycling",  develop 

"design 

and 

for 

41.  The issue  of  recycling  of end  of Ufe vehicles  has  also  been  considered  a priority  in 
Japan, where in 1990 a law for the promotion  of use of recycled resources, applying 
in  particular  to  automobile  and  household  appliances  industries,  was  passed.  In 
addition,  in  October  1996 the  Ministry  for  international  trade  and  industry  (MITI) 
drew up  a set  of quantified  targets for  the recycling  of end of life vehicles (85% by 
2002 and 95% by 2015). MITI also called for  a drastic reduction  ofthe  use of lead 
in new vehicles. 

IX.  Subsidiarity and  proportionality 

What are the objectives ofthe  action envisaged in relation to the obligations of 
-the Community? 

42.  The Proposal seeks to deal with the problems of end of life vehicles. Thus, measures 
aimed  at  prevention  should  lead  to  improvement  of  the  design  of  vehicles  with  a 
view to  their  recycling  and  recovery.  Member  States  will introduce  a  certificate  of 
destruction  which  can  only  be  handed  over  to  the  last  holder  and/or  owner  by  an 
authorized  treatment  operator.  Hence,  it  should  allow  authorities  to  control  the 
destiny  of  end  of life  vehicles.  This  certificate  and  the  establishment  of  take  back 
schemes  should  also  encourage  the  last  owner/holder  to  hand  over  the  end  of  life 
vehicle to an authorized facility.  The Proposal introduces authorization  schemes and 
requirements  for  both  treatment  facilities  and  treatment  operations  in  order  to 
ensure that end of life vehicles are treated in an environmentally sound way.  Targets 
for  re-use/recycling  and  recovery  and  provisions  on  coding,  standardization  and 

10 

information  aim to  encourage  all economic  operators  involved  to  avoid  disposal- of 
waste from end of life vehicles which  might be suitable for  more appropriate  waste 
management alternatives, such as re-use and recycling. 

43.  By focusing  on a vehicle once it has finished its useful  life, the Proposal provides a 
balance with  a view to  measures which until now focused  in particular  on  emission 
control.  Indeed,  actions taken to  combat  air pollution tend to  encourage the use  of 
lighter material, in particular plastic components instead of metal, in order to  reduce 
weight  and  thereby  consumption.  This  shift  of materials has a direct  impact  on  the 
management of end of life vehicles. 

44.  The  above  objectives  are  fully  in  line  with  the  obligations  of  the  Community  to 
provide  its  citizens  with  a  high  level  of  environmental  protection  within  the 
framework ofthe internal market. 

45.  The  different  situations  in the Member  States  related  to  end  of life  vehicles  have  a 
considerable  impact  on  the  internal  market.  High  requirements  concerning  the 
treatment  of  end  of  life  vehicles  result  in  competition  distortions  in  the  recycling 
sector  and in export  of vehicles to Member  States where no or lower  requirements 
exist.  Shipments  between  Member  States  and  exports  to  third  countries,  in 
particular  Central  and  Eastern  European  countries,  jeopardize  considerable 
investments in treatment  facilities  which operate  on a higher  level  of  environmental 
protection.  No  targets or different  targets on re-use,  recycling  and  recovery  of end 
of life vehicles as well as no or different  take-back schemes exacerbate this situation. 

Does the measure fall within  the exclusive  competence  of the Community  or is 
competence shared with the Member States? 

46.  Measures  adopted in the field of environmental  protection fall under  competence  of 
both  the  Community  and  the  Member  States.  Measures  aimed  at  harmonizing 
legislation  in  view  of  the  functioning  of  the  internal  market  are  of  exclusive 
competence  ofthe  Community,  although measures taken  at national  level may have 
strong effects  on the internal market as well. Therefore  this Proposal touches a field 
of  shared  competence  between  the  Community  and  Member  States.  In  the  case  of 
end  of 
integration  between 
market-related  aspects  and  environment-related  aspects,  no  measure  taken  at 
national level could reach the same objectives and be as effective  as a measure taken 
at Community level. 

in  consideration  of 

life  vehicles, 

the  strong 

. Subsidiarity  test 

47.  The objectives of this Proposal cannot be adequately achieved by the Member  States 
on their own.  There is no evidence that  all Member  States will take the  appropriate 
measures to deal with end of life vehicle problems. Voluntary initiatives from  vehicle 
producers are being introduced  mainly in Member  States where these producers  are 
located  and  these  initiatives  are  far  from  being  sufficient 
the 
above-described  problems.  Even  if  all  Member  States  decided  to  take  action,  it 
would  still  be  necessary  to  ensure  coherence  of  the  national  approaches.  This 
Proposal should provide the necessary framework to ensure such coherence in terms 
ofthe  design and production  of vehicles with a view to recovery, the conditions  for 
discarding  of  end  of  life  vehicles,  the  conditions  for  treatment  facilities  and  the 
treatment  operations,  the  re-use,  recycling  and  recovery  targets.  The  experience 

to  confront 

11 

gained  so far  by national  initiatives  (both  regulatory  and voluntary)  and the  present 
situation in relation to the management  of end of life vehicles in the Member  States 
indicate that it is essential to introduce such a framework. 

48.  As highUghted  in chapter  II,  end  of life vehicles are a problem  of Community-wide 
dimension.  Different  requirements  concerning  collection,  treatment  and  recovery 
create  incentives  for  export  of  end  of  life  vehicles  to  Member  States  with  less 
stringent  environmental  requirements.  Therefore  EU-wide  action  needs to  be taken 
in order to avoid any distortion ofthe  market  and to make environmental  protection 
more effective. 

, 

Proportionality test 

49.  The Proposal  focuses  exclusively  on the' key  elements for  actions  to  be taken  with 
regard to end of life vehicles, such as prevention, collection, treatment  and recovery, 
coding  standards,  dismantling  manuals  and  information.  It  also  sets  up  only  basic 
obligations concerning the relevant  issues. These obligations  are fully  proportionate 
to  the  objectives  of  the  Proposal.  It  is  proposed  to  enshrine  these  obligations  in 
a Directive. 

50.  The Directive  is  an  appropriate  legal  instrument  when  objectives/targets  are  to  be 
set at European level, while the means to achieve them are left  to Member  States. A 
binding instrument  is necessary,  in particular to  provide  economic  operators  with  a 
clear picture ofthe  obligations which they will have to comply with and to  stimulate 
long-term investments in the field. On the other hand, there must be some  flexibility 
in the  choice  of the means  to  achieve the  objectives,  which  can  only be  found  in a 
Directive. 

51.  A European-wide agreement  is not considered to be a viable option in consideration 
ofthe fact that the Community has no direct competence for this kind of agreement. 
In  addition,  the  effective  implementation  of  a  Community-harmonized  strategy 
requires to  be  monitored  in the Member  States by national  authorities,  which  must 
therefore be involved in the legislative process before any obligation is introduced. 

X.  Legislative and administrative  simplification 

to  achieving 

52.  The legislative and administrative burden arising from this Proposal is limited to the 
its  objectives.  As  with  any  other  Directive, 
strict  necessity 
Member States will have to take the necessary measures to ensure that its  objectives 
, are complied with. The administrative consequences ofthe  Directive relate mainly to 
the  permit  requirement  for  operators  of  treatment  facilities,  to  the  issuing  of 
the certificates  of  destruction  and  to  the  monitoring  process.  However,  the 
requirement  relating  to  permit  already  exists  in  Community  waste  legislation 
(Directive  75/442/EEC)  as  well  as  in  the  national  legislative  and  administrative 
measures  adopted  in  order  to  comply  with  Community  legislation.  The  Proposal 
only excludes  the  possibility to  be  exempted  from  the  existing  permit  requirement. 
Therefore  the  Proposal  on  end  of  life  vehicle  does  not  add  new  administrative 
burdens for treatment facilities. However, Member States will have to take measures 
to  comply  with  the  requirements  relating  to  the  certificate  of  destruction  and  to 
monitoring.  In  addition,  certain  additional  obligations  will  need  to  be  fulfilled  by 
economic operators (e.g. on recycling and recovery  of vehicles,  collection  of end of 
life vehicles, dismantling manuals, publication of information). 

12 

XI. 

Imports from third countries 

-  -

from  where 

53.  he  provisions  of  this  Proposal  apply  to  all  end  of  life  vehicles  on  the  EU  market, 
the  vehicles  have  been  manufactured.  The 
independently 
allows 
includes 
definition  of "producer" 
Member States  to transfer  to  importers  the  responsibilities  arising  under  the 
Proposal  for  manufacturers  of vehicles, in the case of vehicles imported  form  other 
Member States as weU as from third countries. 

professional 

importers), 

(which 

XII.  Consistency with other Community  policies 

54.  The  objectives  of  the  Proposal  are  fully  in  Une with  the  Treaty  requirements  for 
environmental protection  and the rights of consumers. They are also in line with the 
requirements  ofthe  internal market,  such as the elimination of obstacles to  the  free 
movement  of  goods  and  services  as  weU  as  the  eUmination  and  prevention  of 
distortions of competition.  This Proposal  also takes account  of industrial policy and 
the common transport policy. 

XIII. Consultation  of stake holders 

55.  This  Proposal  results  from  extensive  consultation  with  the  authorities  of  the 
Member  States,  all the  concerned  economic  operators  (vehicle  producers,  material 
suppliers  and  converters,  end  of life  vehicle  dismantlers,  recyclers  and  other  waste 
management  operators, smaU and medium-sized businesses organizations) as weU as 
environmental and consumer organizations. 

XIV. Legal basis 

56.  n  consideration  ofthe  fundamental  objective  ofthe  Proposal,  which  is to  ensure  a 
high level  of  environmental  protection  in the  Community,  the Proposal  is based  on 
Article  130 S paragraph  1 ofthe  Treaty. 

XV.  Data/scientific  basis 

57.  The  Proposal  is  based  on  data  which  has  been  coUected  in  an  "Information 
Document"  by  the  French  Agence  de  l'Environnement  et  de  la  Maîtrise  de 
l'Energie. This document  was produced  in  1994 for  the end of life vehicles  project 
group  in the  context  of the  "Priority  Waste  Streams Programme"  and  was  updated 
in  June  1996  by  the  Institute  for  European  Environmental  Policy.  A  number  of 
other  studies  and  reports  have  been  used  in  order  to  prepare  this  Proposal,  in 
" particular  a  study  by  SOFRES  on  recovery  of  plastic  wastes  from  end  of  life 
vehicles,  and  a study  on  recycling  of vehicles  done by the Institute for  Prospective 
Technological Studies, in the context ofthe  Task Force "Car of Tomorrow". 

13 

Contents of the Proposal 

Article 1: Objectives 

The Directive aims firstly at ensuring a high level of environmental protection in the whole 
EU territory and secondly at preserving the functioning  of the internal market as regards 
end of life vehicles. It seeks to prevent the creation of waste from vehicles and to promote 
re-use, recycling  and  recovery  of vehicles and their  components  in order  to  reduce the 
quantity  of  end  of  life  vehicles waste which is landfilled  or  incinerated  without  energy 
recovery.  An improvement  of the  environmental  performance  of treatment  operators  is 
also envisaged. 

In order to prevent the generation of waste, waste management concerns have to be fully 
taken into account from the vehicle design or conception phase onwards. To be effective, 
this implies that action is necessary at all stages of the vehicle life-cycle, from production 
through use to collection, re-use, recycUng and final disposal. Economic operators will be 
responsible  for  contributions  to  the  protection,  preservation  and  improvement  of  the 
quality of the environment. In this respect the vehicle manufacturer  plays a predominant 
role,  since  he  takes  key  decisions  concerning  the  waste  management  potential  of  his 
product, such as design, conception, use of specific materials, composition ofthe  product 
and finally its marketing. 

Article 2: Definitions 

Most ofthe  definitions in this Proposal copy, or are inspired by definitions which already 
exist in Community legislation, in particular Directive 75/442/EEC on waste as amended 
by Directive 91/156/EEC and Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste. 

The  definition  of  vehicle  has been  taken from Directive  70/156/EEC,  as  amended,  on 
type-approval  of  motor  vehicles  and  their  trailers.  For  the  purpose  of  this  Proposal, 
however,  only  vehicles  designated  as  category  Ml  (vehicles  used  for  the  carriage  of 
passengers  and  comprising  no  more  than  eight  seats  in  addition  to  the  driver  seat), 
Nl  (vehicles used for the carriage of goods and having a maximum mass not  exceeding 
3.5 tonnes), as well as two and three wheel motor vehicles have been considered. 

A vehicle which falls under the Community definition of waste as defined in Article 1(a) of 
Directive 75/442/EEC on waste is to be considered an "end of life vehicle". 

Article 3: Scope 

All  vehicles  and  end  of  life  vehicles  designated  as  category  Ml  or  Nl  defined  in 
Annex 11(A) to  Directive  70/156/EEC  as  amended  by  Directive  96/27/EC  and  two  or 
three  wheel  motor  vehicles  as  well  as their  components  are  covered  by this Proposal, 
which applies without prejudice to existing Community legislation (and its corresponding 
transposition measures into national legislation), in particular as regards safety standards, 
air emission and noise controls. However, two and three wheel motor vehicles as well as 
special  purpose  vehicles  are  excluded  from  the  provisions  of  Articles  4  and  7  of 
this Directive. 

14 

Article 4: Prevention 

In  order  to  achieve  the  general  waste  reduction  objective  laid  down  in  Article  1, 
preventive  measures  are  essential.  Thus  producers,  as  well  as  material  and  equipment 
manufacturers  shall  control  the  use  of  hazardous  substances  if  possible  as  from  the 
conception  stage  of  the  new  vehicles.  Controlling  the  use  of  hazardous  substances  shall 
prevent  their release into the  environment,  facilitate  dismantling  and  recycling,  and  avoid 
disposing of hazardous waste. 

The  concept  of  "design-for-dismanthng"  and  "design-for  recycling"  shall  be  taken  into 
account  fully  by  producers  during  the  design  and  production  phases  of  new  vehicles. 
Furthermore,  the  use  of  recycled  materials  in  vehicles  and  in  other  products  shall  be 
encouraged,  so  as  to  promote  the  development  of  markets  for  recycled  materials  and 
ensure  that  recycling  is  profitable.  Because  of  their  widely-recognized  toxicity,  lead 
(except  lead  used  as  solder  in  electronic  circuit  boards),  mercury  hexavalent  chromium 
and cadmium contained  in vehicles put  on the market  after  a transitional  period  will have 
to  be prevented  from  being  shredded  in  shredder vehicles and from being  disposed  of  to 
landfill  or  installations  incinerating  wastes,  including  cement  kilns  and  any  other 
installation co-incinerating wastes. 

The Commission  will  consider  the  scientific  evidence  concerning  P VC  and,  if  necessary, 
will  make  appropriate  proposals  to  take  such  evidence  into  account.  This  because  the 
disposal  of  PVC  through  incineration  (both  with  and  without  energy  recovery)  poses 
major  problems.  In  comparison  to  other  polymers,  PVC  has  a  lower  heat  value 
(15.4MJ/Kg  against  36.7  of  polyethilene)  and  a  higher  content  of  chloride 
(which amounts  to  47% of PVC  and  it  is  almost  absent  in  other  polymers).  This  makes 
incineration  of PVC less attractive in terms  of energy gain  and very costly,  since  chloride 
generates  hydrochloridric  acid  and  may  generate  dyoxins  (depending  on  the  combustion 
temperature)  and  therefore  requires  more  sophisticated  and  expensive  systems  for  the 
treatment  of flue  gases.  The  incineration  of  one  Kg  of  PVC  generates  between  two  and 
five  Kg  of  hazardous  wastes  (residues  of  flue  gas  treatment).  The  incineration  cost  of 
mixed plastics (including  11% PVC) has been estimated  at being in a range of ECU 20 to 
49/t.  but  skyrockets to ECU 240 to  400/t.  for  PVC  alone.  The  substitution  of PVC  with 
other  materials is technically  possible but  at  a higher  cost,  which varies between  ECU 25 
and  100.  In  addition  high  concentrations  of  dioxins  and  hydrochloridric  acids  are 
generated when PVC is subject to accidental fires. 

Article 5: Collection 

Collection is important  to avoid the contamination  of the environment.  It is estimated  that 
today  5 to  7%  of  vehicles  are  abandoned  in  the  environment  or  escape  the  control  of 
public authorities. 

Furthermore, the profitability  of end of life vehicle recovery operations depends largely on 
the availability of collection infrastructure  for the end  of life vehicles and for  the  materials 
contained in the end of life vehicles. 

A first step to  ensure that  the objectives  of this Proposal  can be  achieved  is to  set  up  an 
adequate  collection  system  for  vehicles  which  reach  their  end  of  life  phase.  The 
responsibility  to  set  up  such  a  system  will  not  fall  on  public  authorities,  but  on  the 
economic  operators  of  the  automotive  chain.  Such  a  system  shall  be  completed  by  a 

15 

"certificate  of destruction",  which  is a condition  for  deregistration  of the vehicles  from 
national registers and relief from corresponding obligations (e.g. taxes). 

This certificate  may be released  only by treatment  facilities  with a permit which ensures 
that  they  fulfil  the  necessary  environmental  protection  requirements  when  vehicles  are 
treated. The certificate of destruction, coupled with the permit requirement for  treatment 
operators,  is  intended  to  ensure  that  the  management  of  end  of  Ufe  vehicles  occurs 
according to certain commercial, administrative, fiscal and environmental standards. The 
certificate  of  destruction  will  only  be  issued  when  the  vehicle  is  discarded  and 
consequently becomes waste. It does not affect the normal sale of vehicles. 

In  order  to  encourage  the  proper  discarding  of  end  of  life  vehicles  and  to  apply  the 
poUuter-pays principle, last owners and/or holders shall, after a transitional period, be able 
to  claim from producers  (through the vehicle dealers - meaning  any dealer  of the same 
vehicle  make)  reimboursement  of  any  cost  incurred  in  transferring  his  vehicle  to  an 
authorized treatment facility, unless the dealer decides to take-back the end of life vehicle 
at  no  cost  for  the  last  user  and/or  owner.  This  wiU give  an  incentive  to  producers  to 
increase the recyclability and recoverability of their vehicles, so that the risk of end of life 
vehicles ending up with  a "negative market  value can be reduced.  The Commission will 
regularly monitor the implementation of this provision in order to ensure that it does not 
result  in  market  distortions  and  will,  if  necessary,  propose  appropriate  measures  to 
the Council. 

In order to facilitate  the circulation of vehicles in the internal market,  it is necessary  for 
Member  States to  mutually recognize and accept  the certificate  of destruction  issued in 
other Member States. The Commission will draw up, in accordance with the appropriate 
Committee procedure, the minimum requirements for the certificate of destruction. 

Article 6: Treatment 

This provision lays down the requirements which have to be respected in order to ensure 
that the storage and/or treatment  of end of life vehicles is done without  endangering the 
environment and the functioning ofthe internal market. 

In  order  to  allow  public  authorities  to  carry  out  the  necessary  control  on  end  of  life 
vehicle  storage  and  treatment  operations,  such  operations  will  be  excluded  from  the 
possibility to be exempted from obtaining a permit. This possibiUty exists presently under 
Directive  75/442/EEC  which  covers  all  establishments  and  undertakings  dealing 
with waste. 

In addition authorized treatment facilities must carry out a number of operations related to 
the  correct  de-pollution  and  removal  of  parts  in  order  both  to  prevent  environmental 
pollution  and  to  promote  the  re-use  and  recycling  of  end  of  life  vehicles  and  their 
components.  This  applies  in particular  to  components  such  as batteries,  tyres,  oils and 
other  fluids  which  enter  particular  waste  streams. More  detailed  technical  requirements 
are  laid  down  in  the  Annex  and  relate  both  to  sites  for  storage,  including  temporary 
storage, and to sites for treatment. 

16 

Article 7: Re-use and  recovery 

The  re-use  and  recovery  targets  reflect  the  recommendations  proposed  by  the  project 
group  in  the  context  of  the  "Priority  Waste  Streams  Programme".  However,  they  are 
expressed  as minimum re-use/recovery targets rather than maximum disposal targets. This 
is a consequence ofthe  importance given to recycling, in comparison to the other forms  of 
recovery,  as  it  was  also  chosen  as  regards  the  recently  adopted  Directive  94/62/EC  on 
packaging  and  packaging  waste.  Moreover,  all  environmental  gains  can  be  obtained  by 
recycling the material  contained  in end of Ufe vehicles than by recovering  energy  through 
incineration. From an energy perspective, net savings connected with material recycUng of 
automotive  plastics are ten times higher  than  the net  gains  obtained  by incineration  with 
energy  recovery.  From  a joint  environmental  and  economic  perspective,  the  recycling  of 
combustible  components  such  as  bumpers,  seat-fillers,  dashboard  and  tyres  has  been 
shown to be preferable to the incineration with energy recovery of such components. 

This provision  also  aims at  applying the hierarchy between  relevant  types of treatment  of 
waste as reflected  in the  1996 review ofthe  Community Strategy for  Waste Management, 
which  states  that  recycling  should  be  preferred  to  other  forms  of  recovery  when 
environmentaUy viable. Although the recommendation ofthe  Project  Group is less expUcit 
in this respect,  it  recognizes that  recycling  of materials  is a priority  in relation  to  energy 
recovery.  Quantified  targets  for  the  re-use/recovery  of  end  of  life  vehicles  are  85% by 
weight  per  vehicle  by  2005  and  95%  by  2015;  for  the  re-use/recycling  of  end  of  life 
vehicles  they  are  80%  by  weight  per  vehicle  by  2005  and  85%  by  2015.  Targets  for 
beyond  2015 wiU have to  be  set  at  a later  stage.  These  targets  will  ensure  that  concrete 
results  are  achieved  and  properly  monitored.  The  responsibiUty  to  achieve  these  targets 
lies with the economic operators ofthe  automotive chain. 

Since  at  present  75% of end  of life vehicles  are already  recycled  (the  metallic fractions), 
this  provision  requires  another  10% ofthe  vehicle  (plastics,  glass,  ceramics,  textiles  and 
other fibres, paint  etc. - at present  either landfilled  or incinerated) to be  re-used/recovered 
by 2005 and another 20% by 2015. 

The recycling rate of vehicles present today on the market  can be rapidly increased,  up to 
80%,  by  means  of  recycling  of  glass  and  of the  large  plastic  components  (e.g.  bumpers, 
seat foams).  Further  increases of the recycling rate will depend  mainly on how the  design 
of  new  vehicles  will  take  recycling  aspects  into  account  and  on  market  outlets  for  the 
recycled materials. In this respect,  the use of shredding residues in civil engineering works 
would  be a possibUity. Also the development  of integrated  treatment  centres  (i.e.  centres 
where depollution,  dismantling,  shredding and treatment  of shredding residues takes place 
on the same site) will allow substantial increases ofthe  re-use, recycling and recovery rate 
of end of life vehicles. 

There  are  examples  in  the  EU  which  show  the  feasibility  of  the  proposed  quantified 
targets.  In  one  case  a  recycling  rate  of  85% has  already  been  achieved,  and  recyclâtes 
made  out  of  the  non-metal  fractions  are  reintroduced  in  the  market  under  the  form  of, 
inter alia,  components  for  new vehicles, bottles  and  carpet  underlay.  The  profitability  of 
recycling of plastic components largely depends on the time necessary to  dis-assembly the 
vehicle. 
this  context,  coding  standards  and  dismantling  manuals  play  a 
fundamental  role. 

In 

17 

In  order  to  facilitate  the  achievement  of  the  quantified  targets,  new  vehicles  produced 
after  the  transitional  period  will  be  re-usable  and  recoverable  to  a  minimum  of  95%  by 
weight  per  vehicle  and  re-usable  and  recyclable  to  a  minimum of  85%  by  weight  per 
vehicle. This is to be achieved by amending Directive 70/156/EEC on the type-approval  of 
vehicles, so that  it can be ensured that the compliance with this provision  will not  lead  to 
the  introduction  of  national  requirements  which  could  endanger  the  harmonization 
reached in the car sector via the type-approval Directive. 

the 
Components  re-usable  as  second-hand  components  (within 
corresponding  rules  on,  safety)  will  as  far  as  possible  be  re-used.  Where  this  is not 
possible, they wiU be recovered and preferably recycled, when environmentally viable. 

the  respect  of 

This  provision  seeks to  give  a reasonable  incentive  to  increase  the  re-use  of  spare  parts 
and  to  develop  recycUng  techniques  in  preference  to  other  forms  of  recovery  such  as 
incineration in cement kilns or in steel plants. It takes into account that  for  some  fractions 
of  the  end  of  life  vehicle  (in particular  light  plastic  shredding  residues),  energy  recovery 
may  be,  under  certain  conditions,  an  effective  solution  both  on  environmental  and 
economic grounds. 

Article 8: Coding standards and dismantling  manuals 

One  of the most  promising  techniques  for  facilitating  the  recycling  of  end  of  life  vehicle 
fractions  lies  in  the  development  of  marking  methods,  since  this  will  facilitate  the 
identification  materials  and  components  during  dismantling  operations.  Most  vehicle 
producers  are  already  developing  these  methods.  To  further  facilitate  this  process,  the 
Commission  will promote,  if required,  the  preparation  of European  standards  relating  to 
the identification  and codification  of end of life vehicle materials and components. 

Since vehicle treaters, in particular  dismantlers,  should know where hazardous  substances 
are located  in the vehicle and how to  dismantle the vehicle in order  to ensure  a maximum 
potential  for  re-use,  recycling  and  recovery,  the  Proposal imposes  the  obligation  on 
producers to provide dismantling manuals to treatment  faciUties. 

Article 9:  Information 

In order  to  monitor  the implementation  of this Proposal,  data  on  end  of life  vehicles will 
be  collected  and  forwarded  to  the  Commission.  This  Article  establishes  that  apposite 
data-base formats  should be adopted  according to the procedure referred  to  in Article 13. 
To  ensure that  consumers  contribute  actively to  the achievement  of the objectives  of this 
Proposal,  producers  will  provide  vehicle  users  and  other  interested  parties  with 
information  on  the  re-use,  recycling  and  recovery  rate  achieved  for  their  vehicles  and 
components  in  the  previous  year.  This  information  will  have  to  be  verified  by  Member 
States. 

Article  10: Reporting  obligation 

This  Article  provides  a three-yearly  reporting  obligation  for  Member  States,  in line with 
similar  reporting  requirements  adopted  in  other  Community  legislation  in  the  field 
of waste. 

Article 11: Implementation 

The  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  procedures  necessary  to  comply  with  the 
Directive  shall  enter  into  force  before  [18  months  after  the  entry  into  force  of 
the Directive]. 

Article 12: Committee procedure 

In  order to  adapt  the  contents  of the  Annex to  technical  progress  as well  as to  adopt 
the formats  which  lay  down  minimum  requirements  for  the  certificate  of  destruction 
under Article  5(3)  and  the  formats  relating  to  the  database  system  under  Article  9, 
the Commission  will  be  assisted  by  the  Committee  established  by  Article  18  of 
Directive 75/442/EEC on waste. 

Annex 

The Annex contains the technical requirements for storing and treating end of life vehicles. 
They  seek to  ensure that  contamination  of the  environment  is avoided,  in particular by 
providing apposite impermeable  surfaces  and storage  areas for  the different  components 
of end of life vehicles. 

19 

Proposal for a 
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 

on end of life vehicles 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular 
Article  13 Os(l) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission2, 

Having regard to the opinion ofthe  Economic and Social Committee3, 

Acting  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in  Article  189c  of  the  Treaty  in 
cooperation with the European Parliament, 

Whereas  the  different  national  measures  concerning  end  of  life  vehicles  should  be 
harmonized  in  order,  firstly,  to  prevent  any  impact  of  end  of  life  vehicles  on  the 
environment,  thus  contributing  to  the  protection,  preservation  and  improvement  of  the 
quality  of  the  environment  and  energy  conservation,  and,  secondly,  to  ensure  the 
functioning  ofthe  internal market and avoid restrictions of competition in the Community; 

Whereas in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity,  a Community wide framework  is 
necessary  in  order  to  ensure  coherence  between  national  approaches  in  attaining  the 
objectives stated above, particularly with a view to the design of vehicles for  recycling and 
recovery, to the harmonized requirements for collection and treatment facilities,  and to the 
attainment ofthe  targets for re-use, recycling and recovery; 

Whereas  in  order  to  implement  the  precautionary  and  preventive  principles  and  in  line 
with  the  Community  strategy  for  waste  management,  the  generation  of  waste  must  be 
avoided as much as possible; 

Whereas it is a further  fundamental  principle that waste should  be re-used  and  recovered, 
and that preference be given to recycling; 

Whereas,  in  accordance  with  the  polluter-pays  principle  and  in  order  to  implement 
the principle  of  producer  responsibility,  collection  and  recovery  of  end  of  life  vehicles 
should  no  longer  be  a  responsibility  of  public  authorities  and  should  be  shifted  to 
economic operators; 

Whereas  this  Directive  should  cover  vehicles  and  end  of  life  vehicles,  including  their 
components  and  materials,  without  prejudice  to  safety  standards,  air  emissions  and 
noise control; 

2 
3 

OJNoC 
OJ No C 

20 

Whereas this Directive should be understood as having borrowed, where appropriate, -the 
terminology  used  by  several  existing  directives,  namely  Council  Directive  67/548/EEC 
of 27  June  1967  on  the  approximation  of  laws,  regulations  and  administrative 
provisions relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances4, 
last  amended  by  European  Parliament  and  Council  Directive  96/56/EC5, 
as 
Council Directive 70/156/EEC of 6 February  1970 on the approximation  ofthe  laws of 
the  Member  States  relating  to  the  type-approval  of  motor  vehicles  and  their  trailers6, 
as last  amended  by  European  Parliament  and  Council  Directive  97/27/EC7  and 
Council Directive  75/442/EEC  of  15  July  1975  on  waste8,  as  last  amended  by 
Commission Decision 96/350/EC9; 

Whereas it is important that preventive measures be applied from the conception phase of 
the  vehicle  onwards  and  take  the  form,  in  particular,  of  reduction  and  control  of 
hazardous substances in vehicles, in order to prevent their release into the environment, to 
facilitate recycling and to avoid the disposal of hazardous waste; 

Whereas  the  requirements  for  dismantling,  re-use  and  recycling  of  end  of  life  vehicles 
should be integrated in the design and production of new vehicles; 

Whereas the development of markets for recycled materials should be encouraged; 

Whereas  certain  heavy  metals  should  not  enter  shredding  residue  nor  be  incinerated 
nor landfilled; 

Whereas  PVC  is  a  material  commonly  present  in  end  of  life  vehicles;  whereas  the 
Commission will consider the evidence regarding the environmental aspects relating to the 
presence of PVC in waste streams; whereas, on the basis of this evidence, the Commission 
will  review  its  policy  regarding  the  presence  of  PVC  in waste  streams  and  will  come 
forward with proposals to address problems which may arise in this regard; whereas this is 
justified on environmental or health grounds; 

Whereas, in order to ensure that end of life vehicles are discarded without endangering the 
environment, appropriate collection systems should be set up; 

Whereas a certificate of destruction, to be used as a prerequisite for the de-registration of 
vehicles, should be set up; 

Whereas collection and treatment operators should be allowed to operate only when they 
have received a permit; 

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 

OJNol96,  16.8.1967, p. 1. 
OJ No L 236,  18.9.1996, p. 36. 
OJ No L 42, 23.2.1970, p. 1. 
OJ No L 233, 25.8.1997, p. 1. 
OJNoL194,  25.7.1975, p. 39. 
OJNoL135.  6.6.1996, p. 32. 

21 

Whereas  last  owners  and/or  holders  should  not  bear  the  costs  arising  from  end -o'f "life 
vehicles having negative market values; whereas producers should be given incentives to 
increase the recyclability and recoverability of vehicles so that end of life vehicles do not 
have negative market values; whereas the normal functioning  of market forces should not 
be hindered; 

Whereas  it  is  important  to  set  out  requirements  for  treatment  operations,  in  order  to 
prevent any negative impact on the environment and to avoid the emergence of distortions 
in trade and competition; 

Whereas, in order to achieve results in the short term and to give operators, consumers 
and pubUc authorities the necessary perspective for the longer term, quantified targets for 
re-use, recycling and recovery to be achieved by economic operators should be set out; 

Whereas producers should ensure that vehicles are designed and manufactured  in such a 
way as to aUow the quantified  targets for re-use, recycling and recovery to be achieved; 
whereas to this end the Commission wiU come forward with appropriate proposals in the 
context  of the whole set of European vehicle type-approval Directives and will promote 
the preparation of European standards; 

Whereas  Member  States  should  ensure  that  in  implementing  the  provisions  of  this 
Directive  competition  is  preserved,  in  particular  as  regards  the  access  of  small  and 
medium-sized enterprises to the collection, dismantling, treatmenf .and recycling market; 

Whereas in order to facilitate the dismantling and recycling of end of Ufe vehicles, vehicle 
manufacturers  should  provide  treatment  facilities  with  dismantling  manuals;  vehicle 
manufacturers and material producers should use common component and material coding 
standards;  whereas,  to  this  end,  the  preparation  of  European  standards,  where 
appropriate, should be promoted; 

Whereas Community-wide data on end of life vehicles is needed in order to monitor the 
implementation ofthe objectives of this Directive; 

Whereas  consumers  have to  be  adequately  informed  in  order  to  adjust  their  behaviour 
and attitudes; 

Whereas the provisions of this Directive should be implemented  in a non-discriminatory 
manner, in conformity with international trade rules; 

Whereas the adaptation to scientific and technical progress ofthe requirements set out for 
treatment facilities,  as well as the adoption of harmonized  standards for the certificate of 
destruction  and  of the  formats  for  the  database  should  be  effected  by the  Commission 
under a Committee procedure, 

HAS ADOPTED  THIS DIRECTIVE. 

Article 1 
Objectives 

This  Directive  lays  down  measures  which  aim,  as  a  first  priority,  at  the  prevention  of 
waste from vehicles and, in addition,  at the re-use, recycling and  other  forms  of recovery 
of vehicles and their  components  so as to  reduce the disposal  of waste,  as well  as  at  the 
improvement in the environmental performance  ofthe  treatment operators. 

Article 2 
Definitions 

For the purposes of this Directive: 

1. 

"Vehicle"  shaU  mean  any  vehicle  designated  as  category  Ml  or  Nl  defined  in 
Annex II (A) to Directive 70/156/EEC and two or three wheel motor vehicles; 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

"End of life vehicle" is a vehicle which is* a waste within the meaning of Article  1(a) 
of Directive 75/442/EEC; 

"Producer"  shall  mean  the  vehicle  manufacturer  or  the  professional  importer  of  a 
vehicle into a Member State; 

"Prevention"  shall  mean  measures  aiming  at  the  reduction  of  the  quantity  and 
the harmfulness  for  the  environment  of  end  of  life  vehicles,  their  materials 
and substances; 

"Treatment"  shall  mean  any  activity  after  the  end  of  life  vehicle  has  been  handed 
over  to  a  facility  for  depollution,  dismantUng,  shearing,  shredding,  recovery  or 
disposal  of  the  shredding  wastes,  and  any  other  operation  carried  out  for  the 
recovery and/or the disposal ofthe  end of life vehicle and its components; 

"Re-use"  shall mean any  operation by which components  of end  of life vehicles  are 
used for the same purpose for which they were conceived; 

"Recycling"  shall  mean  the  reprocessing  in  a  production  process  of  the  waste 
materials for the original purpose or for other purposes excluding the processing  for 
. use as fuel  or as other means of generating energy; 

"Recovery"  shall mean  any ofthe  applicable  operations  provided  for  in Annex  II.B 
to Directive 75/442/EEC; 

"Disposal" shall mean any ofthe  applicable operations provided for  in Annex II. A to 
Directive 75/442/EEC; 

10. 

"Economic  operators"  shall  mean  producers  of  materials  and  of  vehicles, 
distributors, dismantlers, shredders, recoverers and recyclers; 

11. 

"Hazardous  substance"  shall  mean  any  substance  which  is  considered  to  be 
dangerous under Directive 67/548/EEC; 

23 

12. 

"Shredder"  shall mean any device used for tearing into pieces or fragmenting end  of 
life vehicles. 

Article 3 
Scope 

1. 

2. 

3. 

This  Directive  shall  cover  vehicles  and  end  of  life  vehicles,  including  their 
components and materials. 

This Directive  shall  apply without  prejudice  to  existing  Community  legislation  and 
relevant  national  legislation,  in particular  as  regards  safety  standards,  air  emissions 
and noise controls. 

Two-  and  three-wheeled  motor  vehicles  as  well  as  special-purpose  vehicles  as 
defined  in  the  second  indent  of  Article  4(1 )(a)  of  Directive  70/156/EEC  shall  be 
excluded from the provisions of Articles 4 and 7 of this Directive. 

Article 4 
Prevention 

1.  Member  States  shall  ensure  that  measures  aiming  at  prevention  are  implemented. 

They shall, in particular: 

(a) 

encourage  vehicle  manufacturers,  in  liaison  with  material  and  equipment 
manufacturers,  to  control the  use  of  hazardous  substances  in vehicles  and  to 
reduce them as far  as possible from  the conception  of the vehicle onwards,  so 
as in particular  to  prevent  their  release  into  the  environment,  make  recycling 
easier, and avoid the disposal of hazardous waste. 

(b)  promote  the  design  and  production  of  new  vehicles  which  take  into  full 
account  and  facilitate  the  dismantling,  re-use  and  recovery,  in  particular  the 
recycling, of end of life vehicles, their components and materials. 

(c) 

encourage  vehicle  manufacturers,  in  liaison  with  material  and  equipment 
manufacturers,  to  integrate  an  increasing  quantity  of  recycled  material 
in vehicles  and  other  products,  in  order  to  develop  the  markets  for 
recycled materials. 

2.  Member  Sfates  shall  ensure  that 

lead,  mercury,  cadmium  and  hexavalent 
chromium contained in  vehicles  put  on  the  market  after  1  January  2003  is 
prevented from  being  shredded  in vehicle  shredders  and  from  being  disposed  of  as 
landfill  or  in  any  installation  incinerating  or  co-incinerating  waste,  with  or  without 
energy recovery. 

Lead  used  as  solder  in  electronic  circuit  boards  shall  be  exempted  from  the 
first subparagraph. 

24 

Article 5 
Collection 

1.  Member States shaU take the necessary measures to ensure that economic operators 
set  up  systems  for  the  coUection  of  all  end  of  life  vehicles.  Member  States 
shall ensure  the  availability  and  balanced  allocation  of  collection  facilities  within 
their territory. 

2.  Member  States  shaU  take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  that  as  from 
to  authorized 

life  vehicles  are 

transferred 

1 January 2000  all  end  of 
treatment facilities. 

3.  Member States shall set up a system according to which a certificate of destruction 
is a condition for deregistration ofthe vehicle. This certificate  shall be issued to the 
holder  and/or  owner  when  the  end  of  life  vehicle  is  transferred  to  a  treatment 
faciUty.  Only treatment  faculties  which have  obtained  a permit  in accordance with 
Article 6 shall be permitted to issue a certificate of destruction. 

Temporary deregistration without delivery of this certificate shall be permitted. 

4.  Member States shaU ensure that any costs incurred by the last holder and/or owner 
at  delivery  of  the  vehicle  to  an  authorized  treatment  facility  in  accordance  with 
paragraph  3,  as  a result  of  the  vehicle's  having  a negative  market  value,  shaU be 
reimbursable by the vehicle dealer acting on behalf of the producer, unless the dealer 
decides  to  take  back  the  end  of  life  vehicle  at  no  cost  to  the  last  holder 
and/or owner. 

The  Commission  shall  regularly  monitor  the 
implementation  of  the  first 
subparagraph to ensure that it does not result in market distortions,  and if necessary 
shall propose to the Council an amendment hereto. 

5.  Member  States  shall  take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  that  competent 
authorities  mutually  recognize  and  accept  the  certificates  of  destruction  issued  in 
other Member  States according to paragraph 3.  To this end, the  Commission shall 
draw up, not later than 30  June  1999 the minimum requirements for the  certificate 
of destruction. 

Article 6 
Treatment 

1.  Member  States  shall  take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  that  all  end  of  life 
vehicles  are  stored  (even  temporarily)  and  treated  according  to  the  general 
requirements  laid  down  in  Article  4  of  Directive  75/442/EEC,  and  in  compliance 
with  the  technical  requirements  set  out  in  the  Annex  to  this  Directive,  without 
prejudice to national regulations on health and environment. 

25 

2.  Member  States  shall  take  the  necessary  measures 

that  any 
establishment or undertaking  carrying  out  treatment  operations  shall  obtain  a 
permit from the competent  authorities,  in  compliance  with  Articles  9  and  10  of 
Directive 75/442/EEC.  The derogation from the  permit  requirement  referred  to  in 
Article  11(1)  of that Directive  shall not apply to  operations concerning  end  of life 
vehicles covered by this Directive. 

to  ensure 

3.  Member  States  shall  take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure 

that  any 
establishment or undertaking  carrying  out  treatment  operations  fulfils  at  least  the 
following obligations: 

(a)  End  of  life  vehicles  shall  be  stripped  (by  the  removal  of  all  fluids,  tyres, 
batteries,  air  conditioning  systems,  air  bags,  catalysts  and  other  hazardous 
components  and  materials)  before  further  treatment  or  other  equivalent 
arrangements  shaU be  made  in  order  to  reduce  any  adverse  impact  on  the 
environment. Components containing lead, mercury, cadmium and hexavalent 
chromium in vehicles  put  on the  market  after  1 January  2003  shaU also  be 
stripped before Anther treatment. 

(b)  Materials and components  shaU be removed and/or treated in a selective way 

so that shredder waste is not classified as hazardous waste. 

(c)  Stripping  operations  and  storage  shall  be  carried  cut  in  such  a  way  as  to 
ensure  the  suitability  of  vehicle  components  for  re-use  and  recovery,  and in 
particular for recycUng. 

4.  Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the permit referred 
to  in  paragraph  2  includes  all  conditions  necessary  for  compliance  with  the 
requirements of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3. 

Article 7 
Re-use and recovery 

1.  Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that components suitable 
for re-use are re-used, that components which cannot be re-used are recovered and 
that preference is given to recycling when environmentally viable, without prejudice 
to safety requirements. 

2. 

.Member  States  shall  take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  that  the  following 
targets are attained by economic operators: 

(a)  No  later  than  1  January  2005,  for  all  end  of  life  vehicles,  the  re-use  and 
recovery  shall  be  increased  to  a  minimum  of  85% by  weight  per  vehicle. 
Within  the  same  time  limit  the  re-use  and  recycling  shall  be  increased  to  a 
minimum of 80% by weight per vehicle. 

(b)  No  later  than  1  January  2015,  for  all  end  of  life  vehicles,  the  re-use  and 
recovery  shall  be  increased  to  a  minimum  of  95%  by  weight  per  vehicle. 
Within  the  same  time  limit  the  re-use  and  recycling  shall  be  increased  to  a 
minimum of 85% by weight per vehicle. 

26 

3.  On the basis of a proposal from the Commission, the Council shall establish targets 
for re-use and recovery and for re-use and recycling for the years beyond 2015. 

4. 

In view of the responsibility  of producers to ensure that vehicles are designed and 
manufactured  in such a way as to allow the rates of re-use, recycling and recovery 
as  set  out  in this Directive to  be achieved by the economic  operators  concerned, 
the Council,  on  the  basis  of  a  proposal  from  the  Commission,  shall  amend 
Directive 70/156/EEC  so  that  vehicles  type-approved  in  accordance  with  that 
Directive and put on the market after  1  January 2005 are re-usable and/or recyclable 
to a minimum of 85% by weight per vehicle and are reusable and/or recoverable to a 
minimum of 95% by weight per vehicle. To that end, the Commission shall promote, 
as appropriate, the preparation of European standards relating to the dismantlability, 
recoverability, and recyclability of vehicles. 

Article 8 
Coding standards/dismantling manuals 

1.  Member  States  shaU  take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  that  producers, 
in concert  with  material  and  equipment  manufacturers,  use  common  component 
and material  coding  standards  by  31  December  1999,  in  particular  to  facilitate 
the identification  of those  components  and  materials which  are  suitable for  re-use 
and recovery. 

2. 

The  Commission  shall  promote,  as  appropriate,  the  preparation  of  European 
standards  relating  to  the  identification  and  codification  of  the  components  and 
materials referred to in paragraph 1. 

3.  Member  States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that producers provide 
dismantling manuals by 31 December  1999 which identify,  as far  as it is needed by 
treatment  facilities  in  order  to  comply  with  the  provisions  of  this  Directive,  the 
different  vehicle  components  and  materials,  and  the  location  of  all  hazardous 
substances in the vehicles. 

Article 9 
Information 

1.  Member  States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that data-bases on end 
of life vehicles and their treatment are established in order to enable Member States 
.and  the  Commission  to  monitor  the  implementation  ofthe  objectives  set  out  in 
this Directive.  Data  shall  be  provided  on  the  basis  of  formats  to  be  adopted  by 
30 June 1999. The data shall be made available with the national reports referred  to 
in Article 10 and shall be updated in subsequent reports. 

2.  Member States shall require producers to publish information on the rates of re-use, 
recycling  and  recovery  which  have  been  achieved  in  the  previous  year  for  their 
vehicles and components. Such information  shall be verified  by Member States and 
made available to potential purchasers of vehicles. 

27 

Article 10 
Reporting  obligation 

Member  States  shall  report  to  the  Commission  on  the  application  of  this  Directive  in 
accordance with Article 5 of Council Directive 91/692/EEC10. 

The first report shall cover the period  [1999 to 2001]. 

Article 11 
Implementation 

1.  Member  States  shall  bring  into  force  the  laws,  regulations  and  administrative 
provisions  necessary  to  comply  with  this  Directive  by  31  March  1999.  They  shall 
immediately inform the Commission thereof. 

When Member  States  adopt  these provisions, these  shall contain  a reference to this 
Directive  or  shall  be  accompanied  by  such  reference  at  the  time  of  their  official 
publication.  The procedure for  such reference  shall be adopted by Member States. 

2.  Member  States  shall communicate  to  the  Commission  all existing  laws,  regulations 

and administrative provisions adopted within the scope of this Directive. 

Article 12 
Committee  procedure 

The  Commission,  assisted  by 
Directive 75/442/EEC, and according to the procedure laid down therein, shall: 

the  committee  established  by  Article  18  of 

(a) 

(b) 

adopt the amendment necessary for adapting the Annex to this Directive to  scientific 
and technical progress; 

adopt  the  minimum  requirements,  as  referred  to  in  Article  5(5),  for  the  certificate 
of destruction; 

(c) 

adopt the formats relating to the database system referred  to in Article 9. 

Article 13 
Entry into force 

This Directive  shall  enter  into force  on the twentieth  day following  that  of its publication 
in the Official Journal  ofthe  European  Communities. 

Article 5(4) shall apply from  1  January 2003. 

10 

OJ No L 377,31.12.1991, p. 48. 

28 

Article 14 
Addressees 

This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 

29 

ANNEX 

Technical requirements in accordance with Article 6(1) 

1. 

Sites for storage (including temporary storage) of end of life vehicles prior to their 
treatment: 

Impermeable  surfaces  for  appropriate  areas  with  the  provision  of  spiUage 
collection facilities, decanters and cleanser-degreases 

Equipment for the treatment of water, including rainwater, in compliance with 
health and environmental regulations. 

2. 

Sites for treatment: 

Impermeable  surfaces  for  appropriate  areas  with  the  provision  of  spillage 
collection facilities, decanters and cleanser-degreases 

Appropriate storage for dismantled spare parts, including impermeable storage 
for oil-contaminated spare parts 

Appropriate containers for storage of batteries (with electrolyte neutralisation 
on site or elsewhere), oil filters and PCB/PCT containing condensers 

Appropriate  storage tanks for  end of Ufe vehicle fluids: fuel,  motor  oil, gear 
box oil, transmission oil, hydraulic oil, cooling liquids, antifreeze, brake fluids, 
battery acids, air conditioning  system fluids  and any other fluid  contained in 
the end of Ufe vehicle 

Appropriate  storage for  used  tyres,  including the prevention  of fire hazards 
and excessive stockpiling 

Equipment for the treatment of water, including rainwater, in compUance with 
health and environmental regulations. 

30 

IMPACT ASSESSMENT FORM 

THE IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL ON BUSINESS 

with special reference to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) 

The Proposal 

I. 

1. 

2. 

Taking  account  of  the principle  of  subsidiarity,  why  is  Community  legislation 
necessary in this area and what are its main aims? 

In order to counter the environmental impact caused by end of life vehicles,  systems 
for  the  collection,  dismantling  and  treatment  of  end  of  life  vehicles  are  gradually 
appearing  in  the  Member  States.  Some  of  these  systems  are  based  on  voluntary 
initiatives from industry.  In  some Member  States these  initiatives  are  supplemented 
with  legislation.  The  different  situations  in the  Member  States  have  a  considerable 
impact  on the  functioning  of  the  internal  market  and  on the  possibility  to  ensure  a 
high  level  of  environmental  protection  on  the  whole  territory  of  the  Union.  These 
national initiatives, particularly those of a non-regulatory nature, are not sufficient  to 
ensure among other things: 

coherence between the national approaches 

full participation ofthe  actors (avoiding free  riders) 

adequate sanctions in case of non-respect of commitments 

avoidance of technical barriers to trade and of distortions to  competition 

legal certainty (including possibility to defend  rights before national Courts). 

There  is no  guarantee  that,  in  the  absence  of  a  Community  legislative  framework, 
initiatives will be taken at national level in all Member  States. The justification  for  a 
binding  Community  instrument  follows  from  the  nature  of  the  system  that  this 
Proposal  aims at  setting up.  The  system comprises  elements,  such  as the  certificate 
of  destruction,  the  authorization  for  treatment  facilities  and  the  enforcement  of 
quantitative  targets  which  by their  nature  require  a  legislative  framework.  Leaving 
the full  initiative to  the private  sector,  in order  for  it to  set up  a voluntary  initiative 
throughout  the EU, would not suffice  to establish the above elements and would not 
allow  for  the  necessary  involvement  of  national  public  authorities.  National 
authorities  will  be  fully  involved  in the  legislative  procedure  for  the  adoption  of  a 
binding Community  instrument. 

3.  Also,  it  is  clear  that  if  national  measures  are  not  similar,  trade  and  competition 
distortions  are  likely  to  occur,  since  dismantlers  and  recyclers  in  countries  where 
requirements  are less stringent will have a competitive advantage over those located 
in  other  countries  and  end  of  life  vehicles  will  flow  to  "countries  of  convenience" 
where their discarding is easier and/or cheaper. 

31 

4. 

The Proposal  seeks  to  lay  down  the  basic  objectives  for  an  environmentally" sound 
system for the management of end of life vehicles, whereas the means to achieve this 
objective  is left  to  the  responsibility  of  the  Member  States  in  accordance  with  the 
subsidiarity principle. 

The impact on business 

H.  Who will be affected by the Proposal? 

Il.a  Which sectors of business 

5.  Vehicles  are  composed  of  many  different  materials  (e.g.  steel,  aluminium,  plastics, 
glass,  textiles,  fluids,  rubber,  wood,  paper  and  carton,  paint)  and  components. 
Therefore,  all sectors and branches which produce vehicles as weU as materials and 
components wiU be affected.  In addition to the sectors involved in the production of 
vehicles, sectors related to vehicle collection, dismantling, recovery and. disposal will 
also be  affected. 

Il.b  Which sizes of business (concentration of SMEs) 

6. 

Producers  of  vehicles  are  large  enterprises  with  a  high  level  of  geographical 
concentration.  However,  a  number  of  small  and  medium  sized  manufacturers, 
mostly involved in the construction of "kit cars", also exists. 

7.  Dismantlers  are  in  general  small  enterprises  based  locally,  whereas  shredders  and 
recyclers are medium to large enterprises with a regional concentration.  Disposal  of 
waste from vehicles is organized differently  across the Member  States, depending on 
national and even regional or local legislation. 

II. c  Are  there particular  geographical  areas ofthe  Community where these businesses 

are found? 

8.  Vehicle  manufacturers  are  mainly 

the 
located 
United Kingdom  and  Sweden.  Significant  assembly  plants  exist  in  Belgium,  Spain 
and  Portugal.  Smaller  operators  exist  in  the  Netherlands,  Austria  and  Greece. 
Vehicle dismantlers are located in all Member States. 

in  Germany,  France,  Italy, 

HI.  What will business have to do to comply with the Proposal? 

9. 

The measure is addressed to the Member  States. Business will have to  comply with 
• the national legislation which will implement this measure. 

10.  Business involved  in vehicle manufacturing,  including  material  producers,  will  have 
to  include waste management  considerations into the design  and production  of new 
vehicles, in order to reach the re-use/recovery and re-use/recycling targets laid down 
in  Article  7  of  the  Proposal.  These  waste  management  considerations  include  the 
use  of  easily  re-usable/recoverable  materials,  the  control  of  hazardous  substances, 
the  use,  where  feasible,  of  recycled  materials  and  of  common  component  and 
material coding standards. New vehicles will also have to be easy to  dismantle.  This 
effort  is  the  necessary  cornerstone  of  a  global  strategy  aimed  at  closing  the  cycle 
between vehicle production and waste generation. 

32 

11.  Establishments  and  operators  carrying  out  treatment  operations  shall  aTso'be 
required, in order to operate, to request an authorization from pubUc authorities. 

Enterprises involved in dismantling and treatment of end of life vehicles will have to 
fulfil  a number of technical requirements laid down in Article 6 ofthe  Proposal and 
the Annex. These requirements aim at ensuring firstly a high level of environmental 
protection  and  secondly  fair  conditions  of  competition  in  the  internal  market. 
Although  it  is  difficult  to  predict  precisely  where  investments  will  have  to  be 
concentrated across the sectors since there are vast differences in the structures and 
in the geographical location ofthe  businesses, in some cases it is estimated that the 
investments  to  be  made  in  order  to  comply  with  these  requirements  may  be 
considerable.  It  has  been  estimated  that  where  a  process-certification  has  been 
initiated  on  a  voluntary  basis,  the  average  initial  investments  of  the  dismantler 
amounts to  100,000 ECU. The real extent of these investments will also depend on 
whether national  or regional  legislation is  already in place.  Where  such legislation 
exists,  industry  will  more  easily  be  able  to  comply  with  the  requirements  of  the 
Proposal.lt is important to note that the need for supplementary investments in the 
dismantling  sector  is  fully  recognized  by  dismantlers  and  accepted  as  a  logical 
condition to  bring this  sector  in line with the basic requirements  of  environmental 
protection  and  the  internal  market,  and  thus  avoid  the  presence  of  "black  spots" 
acting at the expense of society and of operators who comply with the requirements 
ofthe Proposal. 

IV.  What  economic  effects  is  the  Proposal  likely  to  have?  (in  particular  on 

employment,  investment and the creation of new businesses) 

12.  The existing economic situation in relation to the management of end of life vehicles 
is  unsatisfactory.  In  Germany,  for  example,  despite  the  existence  of  sufficient 
treatment facilities to treat all end of life vehicles originating on the German market, 
only a third of them remains in the country (800 000 out of 2 700 000).  The export, 
in  particular  to  Poland  and  the  Netherlands,  concerns  mostly  valuable  vehicles, 
generally  less  than  12 years  old.  Therefore,  only  low  value  cars  remain  for  local 
businesses.  The  German  metal  industry  has  in  this  way  lost  1.5  million  tons  of 
potential  raw material  in  1995  and at the same time  0.5  million tons  of waste has 
been  exported  to  East  European  countries,  where  it  is  often  dealt  with  without 
adequate  standards  of  environmental  protection.  In  addition,  export  of  waste  for 
disposal is not in line with the principles of Community waste legislation. 

13.  Recycling  the fractions of  end  of Ufe vehicles  which today  are  simply  disposed  of 
will have a considerable impact in terms of job creation. Most ofthe  additional jobs 
would be needed for the dismantling operations, which is a labour-intensive activity, 
but  employment  will  also  increase  in  the  transport  and  recycling  of  materials. 
According  to  German  estimations,  in  the  next  ten  years  30 000  additional 
low-qualified  jobs  in the  car  recycling  industry  could  be  created  in  Germany  as a 
consequence ofthe increase ofthe recycling quota from the present 75% to 95%. 

14. 

In  the  Netherlands,  dismantling  currently  takes  place  in  small  and  medium  sized 
enterprises only and it is thought that this will remain manual work in the future as 
well.  Possibilities  for  automation  and  efficiency  improvement  by  larger  companies 
are very limited. Most jobs are for relatively unskilled labour for whom it is  difficult 
to find employment opportunities. 

33 

The  number  of  additional  jobs  generated  as  a  result  of  this  Proposal  has  been 
estimated as foUows: additional dismantling of approximately  125 kg per end of life 
vehicle  in  order  to  achieve  the  target  of  85%  re-use  and  recycling  requires 
approximately  1.5  to 2 hours of manual work; for  10 million end of life vehicles in 
the  EU  this  would  account  for  approximately  10 000  to  15 000  additional  jobs 
(at 1 500 effective hours per job per year). 

15.  Another  consequence  of  this  Proposal  is  the  creation  of  additional  recycUng 
activities. Today, non-metallic materials are mostly landfilled. Recycling of materials 
from end  of  Ufe vehicles  is  a labour-intensive  activity.  Examples  of  new  activities 
Unked to  the  recycUng  of  end  of  life  vehicles,  created  after  the  setting  up  of  the 
Dutch  system  for  the  management  of  end  of  life  vehicles,  include  handUng  and 
storage  before  recycling,  internal  transport,  visual  quaUty  inspection,  chemical 
analyses,  pre-processing  (removal  of metal  parts from foam  and bumpers, removal 
bf paint), processing (shredding, granulation, grinding, distUlation) storage, handling 
and shipping of semi-manufactured products. 

16. 

In  the  Netherlands,  for  the  selection  of  tyres  for  the  various  reprocessing 
possibilities  around  250  jobs  are  required  based  on  50  millions  tyres/year  and  a 
selection capacity of 200 000 tyres/employee/year.  For the recycUng of all materials 
from  end of life vehicles a sound estimate is that several thousands of jobs should be 
created  in  the  recycling  industry.  There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  such 
developments  should  not  occurr  in  other  Member  States  as  well,  once  this 
Proposal will  be  implemented.  Another  positive  economic  effect  in  view  of 
emerging technology  is  that  there may be  opportunities  for  new  businesses  in the 
recycling industry. 

17.  The  increased  requirements  concerning  dismantling,  separation,  further  treatment 
and the  quantified  re-use,  recycling  and  recovery  targets  could  lead  to  increased 
costs in the processing of end of life vehicles. However,  selecting waste in order to 
separate hazardous from non hazardous wastes reduces the costs of collection and 
treatment.  Therefore,  the  net  cost  of  the  operations  will  not  necessarily  be 
significant.  It is difficult  to  estimate how  administrative  burdens on the  end  of  life 
vehicle  treatment  industry  will  change  as  a  consequence  of  this  Proposal,  in 
particular  as  a result  of  Article  5(3)  making  permit  a  compulsory  requirement  for 
treatment  facilities.  However,  also  in  consideration  of  the  fact  that  permit 
requirements are not new but are already in place in most Member States for other 
waste treatment installations, it is reasonable to believe that such burdens should not 
significantly  affect the net operational costs. 

18.  Additional investments in the dismantling facilities will be necessary in order to meet 
the required standards. In the Netherlands the additional investments for  1995/1996 
are estimated to be at least ECU 24 million. For the Community this would mean at 
least  ECU  1.2  billion  which  would  create  approximately  4 000  jobs  in  the 
manufacture of equipment and tools. 

34 

19.  According to  an evaluation  of the Swedish Ecocycle Commission,  the dismantling 
obligation will involve extra work and increased costs. However, this will depend on 
the  extent  to  which  dismantlers  have  already  geared  their  operations  to  sound 
environmental principles and on the content  of hazardous  substances in the end of 
life  vehicles.  It  is  therefore  envisaged  to  estabUsh  a  producer  responsibility  for 
design in order to provide an incentive to manufacturers  to  actively include waste 
management  considerations  in  the  design  of  new  vehicles,  and  eventually  keep 
dismantling costs low. 

V.  Does the Proposal contain measures to take account of the specific situation of 

small and medium sized firms  (reduced or different requirements)? 

20.  From the consultation carried out with European associations of SMEs involved in 
the management of end of life vehicles, it appears that the most important variable 
to take into consideration is the time span necessary to  make the investment» and 
develop the necessary environment-related  skills. This time span is estimated  to be 
approximately  six months for  dismantling  operators.  The Proposal  provides  for  a 
sufficient  transitional  period,  since  the  Directive  will  have  to  be  transposed  by 
Member States 18 months after its coming into force.  In order to meet the concerns 
of SMEs, two and three wheelers as well as special purpose vehicles are excluded 
from Articles 4 and 7. 

Consultation 

VI.  Organizations consulted and their main views 

Via  List of business organizations consulted 

21.  Several business organizations have been consulted in  1995,  1996 and  1997 before 

finalizing  this Proposal, including: 

EGARA (European Group of Automotive Recycling Associations) 
ACEA (Association of European Automobile  Manufacturers) 
ACEM (Association of European Motorcycle  Manufacturers) 
GEPVP (Groupement Européen des Producteurs de Verre Plat) 
EUROBAT (Association des Fabricants Européens  d'Accumulateurs) 
EISA (European Independent Steelworks Association) 
APME (Association of Plastics Manufacturers  in Europe) 
EUPC (European Plastics  Converters) 
BLIC (Bureau de liaison des Industries du Caoutchouc) 
UEIL (Union Européenne des Indépendants en  lubrifiants) 
COMITEXTIL  (Coordination Committee for the Textile Industry in the EC) 
GPRMC (Groupement Européen des Plastiques Renforcés/Matériaux  Composites) 
EUROFER  (Sidérurgie) 
EUROMETAUX (Métaux non ferreux) 
BIR/EFR/EUROMETREC (Recovery and Recycling Associations) 
EAA (European Aluminium Association) 
BIR (Bureau  International de la Recuperation) 
CECRA/CLEDIPA (Comité Européen du Commerce et de la Réparation Automobile) 
FEAD (Fédération Européenne des Activités du Déchet) 
UNICE (Union of Industrial and Employers  Confederations) 
UEAPME (Union Européenne de r Artisanat et des Petites et Moyennes  Entreprises) 
CECOP (Comité Européen des Coopératives de Production et de Travail  Associé) 

- 
- 

35 

VI. b  Main  views ofthe  organizations consulted 

22.  Businesses  involved  in vehicle  dismantling  and  treatment  endorse  the  principles  of 
this Proposal,  in  particular  concerning  maximum  re-use  of  components,  maximum 
recycling,  minimum  waste  disposal.  They  also  agree  in  establishing  minimum 
Community  standards for  the treatment  of  end  of life  vehicles,  a widely  distributed 
network  of  authorized  discarding/dismantling  points,  completed  by  a  more 
centralized  infrastructure  for  further  treatment,  and  in  setting  up  a  system  of 
adequate  controls.  Their preference  goes to  a Community instrument,  which  leaves 
sufficient  flexibiUty to the Member  States for  the estabUshment  of measures  related 
to  the  practical  handling  of  end  of  life  vehicles  and  at  the  same  time  introduces 
uniform  conditions  in the  internal  market  in  order  to  limit  competition  distortions 
and export  of end of life vehicles to countries with lower environmental standards. 

23.  Businesses  in  the  steel  recycling  sector  recognizes  that  this  Proposal  will  improve 

recycling opportunities and therefore  see the Proposal with favour. 

24.  Encouraging  reactions  have  been  received  from  the  businesses  involved  in  motor 
trade  and  repair  activities,  which  consider  that  the  Proposal  may  have  positive 
effects  on  employment, 
the 
European Committee  for  Motor  Trade  and  Repairs,  SMEs  will  not  necessarily 
suffer,  since the investments needed are such that they can also be afforded  by most 
small enterprises. 

investments  and  competition.  According 

to 

25.  The  Association  of  European  Automobile  Manufacturers  and  some  organizations 
linked  to  material  production  do  not  consider  Community  legislation  necessary  in 
the  area  of  end  of life vehicles,  mainly  on the  ground  that  the threat  of  end  of  life 
vehicles to the environment  does not need regulatory intervention and that  problems 
may be  more  effectively  faced  by leaving the  initiatives  to  the  private  sector.  They 
question the  setting out  of mandatory targets  and  the differentiation  of such  targets 
into  re-use,  recovery  and  recycUng.  The  reasons  why  such  an  approach  cannot  be 
retained  by  the  Commission  are  included  in  the  explanatory  memorandum.  In 
addition, certain individual vehicle producers have recognized the benefits related  to 
this Proposal. 

26.  Motorcycle  producers,  as well as the federation  of European  Motorcyclists  oppose 
the  inclusion  of  two  and  three  wheeled  vehicles  in the  scope  of  this  Proposal,  on 
ground,  inter  alia,  of  the  fact  that  they  were  not  included  in  the  Priority  Waste 
Streams  project  group,  of  the  limited  volumes  and  weight  of  waste  generated  by 
' such  vehicles  (two-thirds  of  such  vehicles  are  under  50  cc)  and  of  the  significant 
differences  with  four-wheeled  vehicles  industry  in  terms  of  size  of  producers, 
economics  of the product  and  organization  of product  distribution.  However,  these 
have been exempted from  Articles 4 and 7. 

27.  Certain  national  associations  of  small  and  medium-sized  recycling  enterprises  have 
expressed  full  support  for  a  European  system  for  the  management  of  end  of  life 
vehicles  set  up  in line with  the  system  existing  in the Netherlands,  therefore  in line 
with  this  Proposal  as well.  The  European  Association  of  craft,  small  and  medium-
sized enterprises raised the general question  of potential financial  and  administrative 
burden  which  may  be  a  consequence  of  certain  provisions  of  this  Proposal.  The 
reasons  why  such  burdens  should  not  exceed  the  benefits  from  this  Proposal  have 
been explained above. 

36 

28.  Support to the Proposal has finally been expressed by the co-operative sector," which 
sees  the  activities  linked  to  recycling  and  recovery  of  end  of  life  vehicles  as 
opportunities  for  creating  new  jobs  and  integrating  disadvantaged  workers  into 
stable jobs. 

37 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(97) 358  final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

14  07 

Catalogue  number  :  CB-CO-97-360-EN-C 

ISBN  92-78-22708-0 

Office  for  Official  Publications ofthe  European  Communities 

L-2985  Luxembourg 

38