ALMOST 2,500 used cars were detected in the past three years in waste shipments leaving Ireland with the majority destined for Nigeria.
The National Transfrontier Shipment Office (NTFSO) detected 1,328 used vehicle exports in 2008 while 973 such vehicles were detected in 2009 and 140 last year. However, these figures are likely to be an under-representation of vehicles being exported for reuse.
The vast majority of the vehicles which are detected by the NTFSO, which inspects waste shipments in and out of Ireland, are primarily exported to non-OECD countries with most destined for Nigeria.
The Environmental Protection Agency report for 2009 notes that a high percentage of the vehicles being exported are intended for re-use in the destination country but notes that “the inspections do not represent the total number of used vehicles exported on a daily basis from Ireland”.
“A motor assessor certificate is required for vehicles for export as proof that the vehicle can be used for its original purpose. No records are kept in relation to the average age of a vehicle under this category as it is not deemed to be a waste.”
According to the report, the NTFSO does not record the age of vehicles detected as being exported for reuse abroad because the age of the vehicle is very difficult to determine at the point of inspection if there are no tax, insurance, NCT or vehicle registration details.
A spokesman for Dublin City Council, which acts as the national competent authority for the NTFSO, said the office does not cross reference the registration number or chassis number of vehicles to ensure that the vehicle has not been stolen.
A new regulatory working group comprising personnel from the NTFSO, the Department of Transport, the EPA and local authorities has recently been set up to examine a number of issues surrounding end-of-life vehicles. However, the NTFSO has not been asked to furnish any more details relating to the export of used cars such as the age of the vehicle.
End-of-life vehicles are those which have been treated and depolluted – as distinct from used cars which can be exported for reuse.
In 2009, the NTFSO carried out inspections of an estimated 400 tonnes of material arising from end-of-life vehicles at Irish ports in 2009, recording a total of 11,047 ELV exports in 2009, all of which were destined for EU Countries.
The NTFSO was set up in July 2007 to monitor, supervise and enforce all aspects of the EU regulations relating to the export, import and transiting of waste to and from Ireland.