For all the focus on the scrappage scheme, the way we dispose of cars is a mess, with some council areas without a single authorised scrappage unit, writes PAMELA DUNCAN
FOR ALL the focus on the Government scrappage scheme, little attention has been given to the seemingly disorganised way we actually scrap our cars.
While a library of legislation is in place for the safe and clean disposal of old cars, in reality the system itself is in disarray, as evidenced by the fact that thousands of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) are seemingly being scrapped each year without having been issued the certificates they should legally receive.
The latest figures provided to the European Commission show that just 14 per cent of the vehicles that came off our roads in 2009 received the required certificates of destruction.
Even taking into account the vehicles scrapped without certificates, the EPA says it can only account for an estimated 82 per cent of all scrapped vehicles for 2009.
That means more than 30,000 end-of-life vehicles are unaccounted for. They didn’t receive certificates of destruction, nor were they scrapped in authorised facilities.
An overview of the ELV structure reveals where the system has broken down: regulations which stipulate that at least one facility should be in place in each council area have not been complied with; it appears that nobody is responsible for the collective breaches of regulations; and while the motor trade pays out about €3 million a year to councils, ostensensibly to fund responsible recycling, this money is not ring-fenced for the purpose of enforcement.
Born out of a 2000 European directive, regulations surrounding the disposal of end-of-life vehicles in Ireland came into force on January 1st, 2007.
The regulations state that car manufacturers are responsible for putting in place a national system ensuring that motorists can safely, and without charge, dispose of cars they have made. The producers are also required to provide money to each of the 34 local authorities depending on their annual sales numbers.
It is a legal requirement for end-of-life vehicles in Ireland to be disposed of at an authorised treatment facility, which then issues a certificate of destruction as per the 2000 directive.
Local authorities, in turn, are responsible for issuing permits for the authorised facilities. In their wider capacity, councils are responsible for the enforcement of waste activities and for the closure of unlicensed scrap yards.
At the bottom of the pile are the car-owners who want to get rid of their old bangers. They have a responsibility to dispose of these through a licensed facility, with the advantage that it will be done for free.
But according to the official records on certificates issued, not a single vehicle has been recycled in either the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown or Longford county council areas in the five years since the regulations were drawn up.
In Leitrim, meanwhile, just one car had been recycled in accordance with the rules up by the end of 2010. Yet these local authorities have all received the same payments from the motor trade as other local authorities – around €300,000 in the past four years – even though some don’t have any authorised treatment facilities at all.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown has a population of some 207,000 people, according to the latest census, but has no such facility. These census figures are less than a week old, but even if we look at the old figure of 194,000, there should be at least two treatment facilities in the area.
In comparison, Kilkenny has less than half that population yet has five treatment facilities in operation.
A spokeswoman for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown says it is not to blame, as it has no responsibility to set up facilities under the legislation. A spokeswoman said that it has facilitated operators that have expressed an interest in setting up facilities in the local authority area but, to date, it has received no proposal to do so.
A Department of the Environment spokesman said Dublin is well serviced by a network of 10 treatment sites. But when we checked the websites of the three other Dublin local authorities, we could find only seven sites in the Dublin area.
Similarly, the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) said that Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, a small geographical area, is well covered, with a number of authorised treatment facilities within a relatively short distance in the greater Dublin area. Yet even ignoring the fact that no facilities are in place, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown still receives money for regulation.
The council claims the money is not simply to support the system but to provide enforcement and supervision, and close down illegal sites. However, even here there is a great disparity in the level of enforcement activity which occurs in each local authority.
For example, since 2007 the Dún Laoghaire local-authority area has received €329,000 in registration fees from the motor trade. In that same time, the local authority shut down five illegal sites operating in the area.
The upshot of all this? Nobody seems to be taking ultimate responsibility for the proper enforcement of the system. Finance director of SIMI, Brian Cooke, acknowledges that the system as it stands is “hugely difficult to implement for all parties”, adding that an upcoming Government review will need to address these gaps.
He says the motor trade has funded the current system with an estimated €12 million since 2007 and if it’s going to be required to keep paying such high fees, “we would like to see those monies ring-fenced to ensure that the system operates properly”.
The Department of the Environment says it is dealing with the broader issue of end-of-life vehicles and that Minister of State Willie Penrose has announced that there is to be a review “to examine the emerging challenges which are facing the operation in Ireland including the attainment of all EU targets”.
The broader issue surrounding the failings in the system has not escaped the attention of the European Commission. It is investigating the matter and has said that if Ireland does not clean up its act in this regard, it may face fines and court actions.
But sources involved in the system have noted that the high price of metal means illegal scrappage remains a lucrative trade, and one which needs a high level of enforcement if environmental pitfalls are to be avoided.
Only time will tell whether all the agencies can pull together to ensure Ireland’s scrappage system is not just a load of scrap.