The Commission presented its fourth report on the implementation of Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles (the ELV Directive), the aim of which is to prevent the production of waste from vehicles and their components so as to reduce the final disposal of waste and its overall environmental impact.

The report covers the period from 22 April 2014 to 21 April 2017. 25 Member States submitted responses for the period. Three countries (Hungary, Latvia and Malta) have not yet done so. Overall, the information submitted was fairly comprehensive and of good quality.

Positive developments in implementation

The transposition of the Directive is considered satisfactory for all Member States and there are no infringement proceedings pending. Overall, the implementation of the ELV Directive appears to be appropriate:

- by 2017, 20 Member States had achieved the target of a minimum reuse and recycling rate of 85% by average weight per vehicle per year; two Member States had not achieved the target but were close to it and six Member States had not provided data. The average reuse and recycling rate for the EU-28 as a whole was 89%, four percentage points above the target;

- the reuse and recovery target of 95% by average weight per vehicle per year proved more difficult to achieve. By 2017, 15 Member States had achieved the target of a minimum rate of 95% reuse and recovery by average weight per vehicle per year; seven Member States had not yet achieved the 95% target but were very close to it and six Member States have not yet reported their results. The average reuse and recovery rate for the EU-28 as a whole was 94%, just below the target;

- under the ELV Directive, vehicle and equipment manufacturers are required to limit the use of lead, mercury, cadmium and hexavalent chromium for materials and components placed on the market after 1 July 2003. The use of the banned hazardous substances is steadily decreasing due to several amendments to Annex II of the Directive which continuously reduce the number of exemptions allowing their use;

- the number of authorised treatment facilities (14 173 in 2015-2017 in EU 28) has increased and Member States are starting to report innovative measures such as the incorporation of recycled materials, support for waste prevention projects and the establishment of environmental management systems, all of which can be examples of good practice for other countries to follow.

Unknown whereabouts and illegal dismantling of ELVs

Among the shortcomings in the implementation and enforcement of the ELV Directive, the most difficult to address remains the high number of ‘ELVs of unknown whereabouts’. Illegal collection, dismantling and trade of ELV parts remains a problem. In addition to the loss of valuable resources (recoverable components and materials), these illegal operations and the treatment of ELVs in unauthorised treatment facilities also have negative effects on health and the environment.

A recent Commission study shows that the high number of ELVs of unknown whereabouts can be explained, inter alia, by failures in deregistration systems and incorrect treatment of ELVs (not all ELVs are transferred to collection points and not all ELVs are transferred to collection points and not all ELVs obtain a Certificate of Destruction (CoD); some ELVs are dismantled in unauthorised facilities). In addition, some ELVs are illegally exported as used vehicles.

In order to address this problem, the Commission has carried out a compliance promotion initiative to assess the implementation of the ELV Directive, paying particular attention to end-of-life vehicles of unknown whereabouts.

Outlook

The European Commission is currently reviewing the ELV Directive in order to assess the extent to which EU ELV legislation rules deliver benefits for the environment, the public and industry. The assessment shall be completed in 2020. The topics being explored include:

- the efficiency of the implementation of the Directive, including the problem of ELVs of unknown whereabouts;

- coherence with definitions in other legislation;

- the relevance and feasibility of targets for certain materials;

- reporting and monitoring methods and relevance to the challenges of new technologies, including electric and hybrid vehicles;

- changes in the material composition of vehicle.

COM(2020)0033
EUR-Lex

The Commission presented a report on the implementation of Directive 2000/53/ EC on end-of-life vehicles (the ELV Directive) for the periods 2008-2011 and 2011-2014.

For the period 2008-2011, all Member States submitted their implementation reports to the Commission, whereas for the period 2011-2014, two Member States have not done so. The information provided was complete and, overall, of satisfactory quality .

(1) Transposition of the Directive : the evaluation concluded that the Member States have fully transposed the ELV Directive. Some cases of non-conformity have resulted in infringement procedures and have been resolved as Member States have aligned their ELV legislation with the Directive.

Member States reported on measures to:

· encourage vehicle manufacturers to limit the use of hazardous substances in vehicles;

· restrict the use of lead, mercury, cadmium and hexavalent chromium for materials and components of vehicles placed on the market after 1 July 2003;

· ensure that vehicle manufacturers implement ELV collection systems and that adequate collection facilities are available;

· require the presentation of a certificate of destruction as a condition for vehicle deregistration;

· ensure that the delivery of ELVs to an authorised treatment facility is carried out at no cost to the last holder or owner;

· oblige treatment establishments to hold a permit issued by the competent authorities or to be registered with them;

· require component producers to make information on dismantling, storage and testing of components available to authorised treatment facilities.

(2) Implementation of the Directive : overall, the implementation of the ELV Directive is considered positive , with the exception of the issue of the ELV of unknown whereabouts:

· Member States reported good practices working with manufacturers on the composition of materials and the reuse of materials and components; ecodesign is improving. The majority of Member States reported that ELVs have a positive market value, provided they are delivered complete and are not stripped of essential components;

· statistics on the ELV targets show that almost all Member States had reached the 2006 ELV targets of 80% reuse/recycling and 85% reuse/recovery . Nice Member States had already reached the 2015 targets of 95% for reuse/recovery and 17 Member States had reached those of 85% for reuse/recycling per vehicle. The remaining Member States are close to the targets applicable as of January 2015, although achieving the reuse and recovery target of 95% is challenging for several Member States;

· Member States also reported qualitative improvements. In most Member States, the number of authorised treatment facilities increased . The total number of vehicles transferred to authorised treatment facilities in the EU rose sharply from 6.3 million in 2008 to 9 million in 2009. This increase is to be attributed to the introduction of scrapping incentives schemes in more than 10 Member States in the 2008 and 2009.

( 3) Unknown whereabouts and illegal dismantling of ELVs : according to assessments carried out on behalf of the Commission, there may be between 3.5 and 4.5 million vehicles per year with ‘unknown whereabouts’.

These ‘missing vehicles’ are deregistered in the Member States but are not reported to the Commission as legally treated ELVs. Nor do they appear in the data of foreign trade statistics on legal exports of used vehicles.

The illegal collection and trafficking of ELVs threatens the effectiveness of the Directive. A study is being carried out to assist the Commission in examining the causes of illegal collection and trafficking of ELVs

and measures that need to be taken to address this issue at different levels/

At EU level, the Waste Shipment Correspondents’ Guidelines on waste vehicles agreed on 8 July 2011 are a helpful tool for national authorities. However, further measures may be required, such as reviewing Commission Decision 2005/293/EC to reinforce the monitoring of the national vehicle market.

The Commission considered that issues relating to the data quality and comparability of reporting have already been addressed, but require further attention .

Improved annual reporting on the ELV targets, accompanied by national reporting methodologies, will help improve the monitoring of the implementation of the ELV Directive.

COM(2017)0098
EUR-Lex

The Commission presents its report on the implementation of Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles (ELV Directive) for the period 2005-2008.

After the first implementation report which covered the implementation period from 21 April 2002 to 21 April 2005 (for the Member States which joined the European Community on 1 May 2004 the period from 1 May 2004 to 21 April 2005), this report covers the period from 21 April 2005 to 21 April 2008 (for the Member States which joined the European Community on 1 January 2007 from this day to 21 April 2008).

Conformity studies run by the Commission on the national implementing measures have demonstrated that the Directive is generally well transposed, although there are some cases of non-conformity which are currently or can be subject to infringement procedures. Concerning the actual, practical implementation and enforcement of the legal provisions, Member States were able to provide more information than for the previous reporting period, but an exhaustive assessment of the overall situation cannot be made based on the received responses.

The main statements made in the report are as follows:

All respondents took the necessary measures to ensure that economic operators – in most cases the producers and/or importers of vehicles – set up systems for the collection of end-of-life vehicles and (as far as technically feasible) of waste used parts removed when passenger cars are repaired, and to ensure the adequate availability of collection facilities within their territory. The number of authorised treatment facilities varies from 2 in Cyprus to more than 1,600 in the United Kingdom. In all countries measures were taken to ensure that all end-of-life vehicles are transferred to authorised treatment facilities. All Member States except Belgium reported having set up a system according to which the presentation of a certificate of destruction is a condition for deregistration of a vehicle. The Belgian case is followed by the Commission. All Member States except Belgium against which the Commission has started an infringement proceeding ensured that certificates of destruction issued in other Member States are mutually recognised and accepted by the competent authorities. The Bulgarian response was unclear and needs further investigation. All responding Member States indicated having adopted measures in line with the waste hierarchy in order to promote the reuse of components which are suitable for reuse and the recovery of components which cannot be reused, with a preference for recycling. All respondents introduced measures to ensure that the reuse/recovery and reuse/recycling targets set in the Directive are attained by the economic operators. Most Member States transposed the targets set in the Directive literally. Concerning the rates of reuse/recycling and reuse/recovery, the 2006 figures are available for all Member States except Ireland and Malta. In 2006, 19 Member States met the reuse/recycling target of 80% (the Czech Republic and France were close to meeting the target). The reuse/recovery target of 85% was met by thirteen Member States (Spain was close to meeting the target). 19 Member States reported having obliged the economic operators – mostly producers – to publish information concerning vehicle design, environmentally sound treatment, waste prevention and the progress achieved with regard to recovery and recycling. Only five Member States reported end-of-life vehicles with no or a negative market value delivered to authorised treatment facilities. The remaining Member States indicated no or a negligible amount of such cars due to high secondary raw material prices. The respondents did not in general notice any competition distortions between Member States, although there were several remarks in this context which are described in the report.

The Commission concludes that there were no remarkable changes compared to the previous reporting period as regards the incorporation of Directive 2000/53/EC into the national legislation of the Member States. Some of the provisions of the Directive have not yet been transposed fully or correctly, which is demonstrated by the number of infringement cases: in 2009, nine non-conformity cases and six cases for non-reporting were still pending. Several Member States failed to meet their reuse/recycling/recovery targets in 2006.

The Commission addressed a letter to these Member States seeking explanation for the reasons of failure and will discuss possible improvement. Overall, the implementation of the Directive should be further improved. The ongoing conformity checks and meetings with Member States will continue in order to address deficiencies in the implementation of this Community legislation.

COM(2009)0635
EUR-Lex

The aim of this report is to inform the other Community institutions, the Member States and the public about the implementation of Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles over the period from 21 April 2002 to 21 April 2005 (or from 1 May 2004 to 21 April 2005 for the Member States which joined the European Community on 1 May 2004). The report was drawn up on the basis of an implementation questionnaire established by Commission Decision 2001/753/EC, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 6 of Directive 91/692/EEC. It is based on information supplied by the Member States and is accompanied by a Commission staff working document which gives more details on the information and data received from them.

All Member States have provided the Commission with details of their laws, regulations and administrative provisions introduced to comply with the Directive. Currently, infringement proceedings are in progress against 9 Member States (Belgium, Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, France, Ireland, Portugal, and the United Kingdom). Overall, although significant progress has been made in several Member States to transpose the Directive, implementation of this legislation cannot be considered fully satisfactory, as demonstrated by a number of infringement procedures concerning this waste stream. In some Member States, although the Directive has been almost literally transposed into national law, the end-of-life vehicles management systems might not be fully operational. Deficiencies in the effective functioning of waste management systems often result from the lack of enforcement rather than missing transposition of the Community legislation. This issue needs particular attention and increased monitoring both on the Community and national level. It is therefore important to step up implementation and enforcement efforts in certain Member States. The Commission will continue the conformity checks and regularly meet with the Member States in order to address any deficiencies in the implementation of Community legislation.

All Member States reported having adopted measures in line with the waste hierarchy prescribed in the Directive that promotes reuse, recycling, and recovery of vehicle components, with disposal as the last recourse. Reuse, recycling and recovery is ensured, in the first place, through measures which aim to guarantee appropriate dismantling, storage and treatment of parts and materials suitable for these treatment options. An important element of each system is the depollution of end-of-life vehicles. Other measures include steps to create markets for recyclates, including recycled content targets in new products. There are also financing schemes available in many Member States aiming to promote environmentally favourable treatment options.

All Member States confirmed that they have set in their legislation the reuse/recovery and reuse/recycling targets. In most cases, national targets literally transpose those of the Directive, with the exception of the Netherlands where the target of 95% reuse/recovery and 85% reuse/recycling was to be met until 2007 (the date is currently under revision). The parties responsible for meeting the targets include producers in cooperation with other economic operators (Finland, Hungary), economic operators (Cyprus, Italy, Malta), producers and importers (Lithuania, the Netherlands), public service providers (Slovenia), and authorised treatment facilities (Ireland). The Czech Republic, Spain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom laid down lower rates for reuse, recycling and recovery for vehicles produced before 1 January 1980, in each case being at least 75% reuse/recovery and 70% reuse/recycling. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, and the United Kingdom reported that the measure introducing these lower targets have been notified to the Commission, and in some cases also to the other Member States. Spain, Greece and Malta have not yet sent the official notification.

From those countries which have reported, in 2004 four Member States reached the 80% recycling target (Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden) and three met the 85% recovery target (Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden). Austria, Germany, and the United Kingdom were also close to meeting the 85% recycling target in 2004.

All Member States adopted measures concerning the use of component and material coding standards reflecting those of Commission Decision 2003/138/EC and obliged vehicle manufacturers to provide dismantling information for each type of new vehicle put on the market. Belgium, Cyprus, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, and Sweden indicated the use of the IDIS system (International Dismantling Information System) to facilitate dismantling and reuse of vehicle parts. In all Member States, there are provisions concerning dismantling, storage and testing of components suitable for reuse. Most Member States oblige vehicle producers to publish information concerning vehicle design, environmentally sound treatment, waste prevention and increased recycling and recovery.

In most Member States, no new prevention measures apart from those required by the Directive have been taken. Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden reported a number of actions taken by the vehicle industry in order to limit the use of hazardous substances and facilitate vehicle reuse, recovery and recycling. As regards the design changes in cars aimed to integrate more recyclates into vehicles, only a few Member States which have national vehicle manufacturing industry (Germany, France, and Sweden) adopted such measures.

COM(2007)0618
EUR-Lex

SEC(2007)1348
EUR-Lex

According to Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles (ELV Directive), the Commission should re-examine the 2015 targets on the basis of a report of the Commission. This report should take into account the development of the material composition of vehicles and any other relevant environmental aspects related to vehicles. The Commission has therefore prepared this report. An important element of the elaboration of this report was the assessment of the environmental, economic and social impacts of the targets and alternative options.

The impact assessment included the analysis of available information from a study on the costs and benefits of the ELV Directive carried out for the Commission by an external consultant, formal and informal stakeholder consultation in a multi-stakeholder working group and an electronic consultation on the final report of the study, meetings with the experts of the Member States and in-house scenario-building of economic and environmental impacts of options. Complications occurred given the fact that the ELV Directive is at an early stage of implementation by the Member States and information as to the currently attained recycling and recovery levels in the Member States is limited. The first reports on the targets are due by the Member States in 2008 and will contain information for 2006. However, information available to the Commission has allowed a fair evaluation of the current situation and the future prospects in vehicle recovery and recycling and to conclude on whether or not the targets set by the ELV Directive for 2015 should be amended.

The report concludes that the targets set by the ELV Directive for 2015 can generate substantial environmental and economic benefits. Repealing or reducing these targets would reduce both types of benefits. Whilst any estimation looking 9 years into the future must involve a degree of uncertainty, the Commission concludes that the 85% reuse/recycling and 95% reuse/recovery targets for 2015 are optimal both in terms of environmental and economic performance.

These targets should remain stable in order to guarantee investment security into more cost-efficient waste treatment technologies. Therefore, the Commission shall not propose revising the targets.

However, account should be taken of the central finding that the magnitude of the environmental and economic benefits generated will be intimately linked to the pace of eco-innovation.

Importantly, the dissipation of uncertainty concerning the maintaining of targets set by the Directive for 2015 will in itself reduce the importance of the observed market imperfections and barriers to eco-innovation. To foster eco-innovation in this field and to further the promotion and uptake of advanced technologies, the Commission will:

co-fund research initiatives under the European Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund as well as fund integrative research through the upcoming 7th Research Framework Programme;

develop projects and initiatives under the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework programme;

pro-actively promote innovative shredder technologies and plastic recycling.

The Commission will report back on the implementation of the ELV Directive in the Member States in 2009. This report will, inter alia, evaluate the need to address the issue of non-harmonised implementation of the Directive. In particular, it shall evaluate the implementation costs and the movement of goods between Member States and assess whether certain provisions of the Directive should come under Article 95 of the Treaty. The report will also assess the progress of eco-innovation and will take into account related developments such as the outcome of the current review of the Waste Framework Directive and the outcome of the CARS 21 project.

COM(2007)0005
EUR-Lex

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Decision 2005/673/EC amending Annex II of Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on end-of-life vehicles.

CONTENT : Under Directive 2000/53/EC the Commission is required to evaluate the use of lead, mercury, cadmium or hexavalent chromium which are prohibited by Article 4(2)(a) of that Directive. Having carried out the requisite technical and scientific assessments the Commission has reached a number of conclusions.

Certain exemptions from the prohibition should not be prolonged because the use of lead, mercury, cadmium or hexavalent chromium in those applications has become avoidable.

Certain materials and components containing lead, mercury, cadmium or hexavalent chromium should be exempt or continue to be exempt from the prohibition of Article 4(2)(a), since the use of these substances in those specific materials and components is still unavoidable. In some cases it is appropriate to review the expiry date of these exemptions in order to assess whether the use of the prohibited substances is still unavoidable in the future:

- In the case of aluminium for machining purposes with a lead content up to 1.5 % by weight, the Commission will assess, by 1 July 2007, whether the expiry date of that exemption has to be reviewed in relation to the availability of substitutes of lead;

- In the case of lead-bearing shell and bushes, the Commission will assess, by 1 July 2007, whether the expiry date of that exemption has to be reviewed in order to ensure that lead-free technology can be applied in all engines and transmissions without harming their proper functioning;

- In the case of the use of hexavalent chromium in corrosion preventive coatings related to bolt and nut assemblies for chassis applications, the Commission will assess, by 1 July 2007, whether the expiry date of that exemption has to be reviewed in order to ensure that no accidental disconnection of essential mechanical parts can occur in the lifetime of the vehicle;

- In the case of the use of cadmium in batteries for electrical vehicles, the Commission will assess, by the end of 2007, whether the expiry date of that exemption has to be reviewed in order to ensure the availability of alternative battery technologies and electrical vehicles.

Directive 2000/53/EC is amended accordingly.

32005D0673
OJ L 254 30.09.2005, p. 0069-0072

ACT : Commission Decision 2005/293(EC) laying down detailed rules on the monitoring of the reuse/recovery and reuse/recycling targets set out in Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on end-of-life vehicles.

CONTENT : under Directive 2000/53/EC, the Commission is required to establish detailed rules necessary to control compliance of Member States with the targets set out in the first subparagraph of Article 7(2) of that Directive. It is sufficient that the Member States show that at least the required targets are met. It is necessary to harmonise the characteristics and presentation of the calculation of the targets set out in the first subparagraph of Article 7(2), in order to make the data produced by Member States comparable.

Member States shall calculate the reuse/recovery and reuse/recycling targets on the basis of the reused, recycled and recovered materials from de-pollution, dismantling and (post)-shredding operations. Member States shall ensure that for materials entering further treatment, the actually achieved recovery is taken into account.

To that end, Member States shall complete tables set out in the Annex to this Decision together with an appropriate description of the data used:

- Table 1 : Materials from de-pollution and dismantling (in tonnes per year) of end-of-life vehicles arising in the Member State and treated within the Member State ;

- Table 2: Materials from shredding (in tonnes per year) of end-of-life vehicles arising in the Member State and treated within the Member State;

- Table 3: Monitoring of (parts of) end-of-life vehicles arising in the Member State and exported for further treatment (in tonnes per year);

- Table 4: Total reuse, recovery and recycling (in tonnes per year) of end-of-life vehicles arising in the Member State and treated within or outside the Member State .

The tables set out in the Annex shall be completed by the Member States on an annual basis, starting with data for 2006

and shall be sent to the Commission within 18 months of the end of the relevant year. For the years prior to 2006, Member States shall report the available data to the Commission within 12 months of the end of the relevant year. The data related to the years prior to 2006 will be used for monitoring purposes only.

32005D0293
OJ L 094 13.04.2005, p. 0030-0033

PURPOSE: to implement aspects of the end of life vehicles Directive

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Commission Decision establishing component and material coding standards for vehicles pursuant to Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on end of life vehicles.

CONTENT: This Decision has been adopted in accordance with provisions laid out in Directive 2000/53, which award the Commission the right to establish component and material coding standards to be used by producers and material and equipment manufacturers. This allows them to identify those components and materials which are suitable for reuse and recovery. Under the terms of the Decision, Member States are expected to ensure that producers, together with material and equipment manufacturers, use the nomenclature of ISO component and material coding standards, (which can be found in Annex to the Decision), for the labelling and identification of components and materials of vehicles. The Decision will be reviewed two years after the Decision has entered into force on the basis of practical experience gained in the recycling and recovery of end-of-life vehicles.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 1 July 2003.

32003D0138
OJ L 053 28.02.2003, p. 0058-0059

32002D0525
OJ L 170 29.06.2002, p. 0081-0084

Directive 2000/53
OJ L 269 21.10.2000, p. 0034

T5-0370/2000
OJ C 135 07.05.2001, p. 0196-0253

T5-0370/2000

Debate in Parliament

A5-0212/2000
OJ C 135 07.05.2001, p. 0014

A5-0212/2000

3627/2000

3627/2000

EUR-Lex
COM(2000)0166

T5-0036/2000
OJ C 309 27.10.2000, p. 0013-0062

Debate in Parliament

T5-0036/2000

A5-0006/2000
OJ C 304 24.10.2000, p. 0008

A5-0006/2000

EUR-Lex
SEC(1999)1549

08095/1/1999
OJ C 317 04.11.1999, p. 0019

08095/1/1999

2194

OJ C 279 01.10.1999, p. 0252-0272
T4-0419/1999

T4-0419/1999

EUR-Lex
SEC(1999)0581

EUR-Lex
OJ C 156 03.06.1999, p. 0005
COM(1999)0176

EUR-Lex
COM(1999)0176

OJ C 150 28.05.1999, p. 0283-0431
T4-0115/1999

T4-0115/1999

Debate in Parliament

A4-0051/1999
OJ C 150 28.05.1999, p. 0005

A4-0051/1999

2153

2121

CES0289/1998
OJ C 129 27.04.1998, p. 0044

EUR-Lex
OJ C 337 07.11.1997, p. 0003
COM(1997)0358

EUR-Lex
COM(1997)0358

POSITION OF EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: in its resolution of 18 September 1992 on the Green Paper on the impact of transport on the environment, a Community strategy for sustainable mobility (OJ C 284, 2.11.1992, p. 164), Parliament calls on the Commission "to submit proposals for integrated management in order to take account of the external costs of production and processing (recycling/disposal) of vehicles without, however, transferring all the burden of the past onto transport". SITUATION IN THE MEMBER STATES: voluntary agreements between the industries concerned have been concluded in the following Member States: Germany, Spain, France, Netherlands, Austria, Sweden and the United Kingdom. However, there has been no resultant national legislation.