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What is
ELV?
ELV is short for End-of-Life Vehicles
Directive 2000/53/EC - ELV
Directive 2005/64/EC
- Type Approval
On
September 18, 2000, the European
Parliament issued a directive “on end-of-life vehicles”
in order to reduce the quantity of waste (including hazardous waste)
that occurs when motor vehicles are junked or totaled.
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Two categories of motor vehicles
(4 or more wheels) must meet all provisions of the ELV directive: |
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Category M1 - passenger
vehicles with no more than 8 seats (not including the
driver's seat) |
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Category N1 - cargo vehicles
weighing up to 3.5 tons |
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These
three-wheeled vehicles must only comply with Articles 5(1), 5(2) & 6 for the collection and treatment of waste vehicles: |
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Category L2e - mopeds with
side cars |
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Category L4e - motorcycles
with side cars |
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Other three-wheeled motor vehicles
are specifically excluded: |
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Category L5e
motor tricycles (three
symmetrically arranged wheels) |
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Motorized
wheelchairs, off-road vehicles, agricultural tractors, and vehicles with
a maximum design speed of 6 km/h or less |
The ELV directive took effect on July 1, 2002,
but vehicles put on the EU market before July 1, 2002 weren't covered until
January 1, 2007.
Four heavy metals, lead, mercury, cadmium & hexavalent chromium,
may not be used in M1 & N1 vehicles put
on the EU market after July 1, 2003. Exemptions are granted when the use of
these substances is considered unavoidable. Approved
exemptions
are listed in Annex II and are regularly evaluated in view of technical
progress.
The
maximum
allowable concentration of these substances in homogeneous materials is
0.1% by weight for lead, mercury & hexavalent
chromium and 0.01% by weight for
cadmium. Prohibited substances may not be intentionally introduced in
the manufacturing process, but the use of recycled feedstock is
encouraged, even when it causes the resulting material to exceed the maximum
concentration levels.
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New vehicle
design (M1 & N1) should include these objectives: |
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Reduce the use
of hazardous substances. Hazardous means substances that are explosive,
oxidizing or flammable in the physical environment; or toxic,
harmful, corrosive or an irritant to human health. |
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Make it easier
to
dismantle,
reuse, recycle and recover
components/materials/energy from vehicles that have been junked
or totaled. Reuse
means vehicle components can be used again for the same purpose.
Recycling means materials are reprocessed for other uses.
Recovery also includes the combustion of waste materials for energy
recovery. |
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Increase the
use of
recycled
materials in new vehicles. |
To this end, ELV targets for reuse
and recovery were set (M1 & N1 vehicles only). Producers, distributors, insurance companies,
collectors and treatment operators in the EU all share responsibility
for meeting these targets. Special purpose vehicles such as ambulances,
campers and hearses are excluded from the targets. Passenger vehicles in limited
production may also be excluded by Member States.
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Effective January 1, 2006,
80% of ELV by weight must be reused or recycled, with a total recovery
of
85%. |
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For vehicles
produced before January 1, 1980, 70% of ELV
by weight must be reused or recycled, with a total recovery of 75%
(effective January 1, 2006) |
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Effective
January 1, 2015,
85% of ELV by weight must be reused or recycled, with a total recovery
of
95%. |
New vehicles must be 85% reusable or
recyclable (by mass) and 95% recoverable, effective December 15, 2008,
to receive type-approval in the
European Union (needed
before vehicles can be manufactured, imported or registered).
To facilitate the handling and treatment of ELV, manufacturers (M1 & N1
only) must
publish dismantling instructions
within six months of the vehicle's placement on the EU market. Passenger
vehicles in limited production may be exempted from these requirements
by Member States.
Required information includes the identity of vehicle components, the
materials used, and the location of hazardous substances. Component and
material information should be listed using ISO
coding standards. Instructions for dismantling, storing and
testing reusable parts must also be published.
In the European Union, vehicle manufacturers, importers, distributors,
collectors, insurance companies, dismantlers, shredders, recoverers,
recyclers, and other treatment operators are required to set up collection systems for end-of-life
vehicles (all categories). But collection and treatment costs are paid by
M1 & N1 manufacturers and importers.
ELV treatment facilities are authorized by the Member State in which
they operate through one of the following methods: registration,
permitting or annual inspections.
M1 and N1 vehicles in the EU must have a certificate of
destruction in order to be deregistered and taken off the tax
rolls. This certificate is issued when the vehicle is delivered to an
authorized ELV collector for treatment. Collection and treatment must be
free to the vehicle's owner.
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Requirements
for the storage and treatment
of ELV (all categories) are outlined in Section 6 and Annex I:
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Storage and
treatment facilities should not adversely affect the countryside
or places of special interest, nor should they create a
nuisance through noise or
odor. |
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The storage,
treatment and disposal of ELV should not endanger
human health or the environment, including the air,
water, soil, plants and animals. Facilities must provide
impermeable surfaces, spillage collection, decanters,
cleanser-degreasers and water treatment. |
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Vehicles should
be stripped of spare parts
that are reusable |
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Vehicles should
be drained of
fluids (fuel;
motor, transmission, gearbox & hydraulic oils; antifreeze, brake
& air-conditioning fluids) for separate storage, treatment and
disposal. |
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Vehicles should
be stripped of polluting components (batteries, filters, PCB/PCT-containing condensers, air
bags & liquified gas tanks) for proper treatment and disposal. |
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Components
containing hazardous substances (lead, mercury, cadmium & hexavalent chromium) should be segregated
so that shredder
waste is not contaminated |
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Vehicles should
be stripped of components for recycling,
such as glass, catalysts, tires, bumpers, dashboard, fluid
containers. |
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Vehicles should
be stripped of materials for recycling such as copper, aluminum and magnesium |
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Tire storage should avoid the hazards of fire and
excessive stockpiling |
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This summary of
the ELV Directive is designed to
provide you with an accurate, easy-to-understand overview of the
topic. However: |
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We have not attempted to cover the
implementation issues that need to be addressed at your
company or in your supply chain. For this type of assistance,
please
email
or
call us at 972-679-8996 to inquire about our services. |
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This summary
does not
constitute legal advice. The actual standard in the original language
should be reviewed and used for all business, legal, and product
compliance purposes. |
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Technical Consulting
PO Box 867705, Plano, Texas 75086 |
