Legal provisions of COM(1997)358 - End of life vehicles

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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.

dossier COM(1997)358 - End of life vehicles.
document COM(1997)358 EN
date September 18, 2000


Contents

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 reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery of end-of life vehicles and their components so as to reduce the disposal of waste, as well as at the improvement in the environmental performance of all of the economic operators involved in the life cycle of vehicles and especially the operators directly involved in the treatment of end-of life vehicles.

Article 2 - Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive:

1. 'vehicle' means any vehicle designated as category M1 or N1 defined in Annex IIA to Directive 70/156/EEC, and three wheel motor vehicles as defined in Directive 92/61/EEC, but excluding motor tricycles;

2. 'end-of life vehicle' means a vehicle which is waste within the meaning of Article 1(a) of Directive 75/442/EEC;

3. 'producer' means the vehicle manufacturer or the professional importer of a vehicle into a Member State;

4. 'prevention' means measures aiming at the reduction of the quantity and the harmfulness for the environment of end-of life vehicles, their materials and substances;

5. 'treatment' means any activity after the end-of life vehicle has been handed over to a facility for depollution, dismantling, shearing, shredding, recovery or preparation for disposal of the shredder wastes, and any other operation carried out for the recovery and/or disposal of the end-of life vehicle and its components;

6. 'reuse' means any operation by which components of end-of life vehicles are used for the same purpose for which they were conceived;

7. 'recycling' means the reprocessing in a production process of the waste materials for the original purpose or for other purposes but excluding energy recovery. Energy recovery means the use of combustible waste as a means to generate energy through direct incineration with or without other waste but with recovery of the heat;

8. 'recovery' means any of the applicable operations provided for in Annex IIB to Directive 75/442/EEC;

9. 'disposal' means any of the applicable operations provided for in Annex IIA to Directive 75/442/EEC;

10. 'economic operators' means producers, distributors, collectors, motor vehicle insurance companies, dismantlers, shredders, recoverers, recyclers and other treatment operators of end-of life vehicles, including their components and materials;

11. 'hazardous substance' means any substance which is considered to be dangerous under Directive 67/548/EEC;

12. 'shredder' means any device used for tearing into pieces or fragmenting end-of life vehicles, including for the purpose of obtaining directly reusable metal scrap;

13. 'dismantling information' means all information required for the correct and environmentally sound treatment of end-of life vehicles. It shall be made available to authorised treatment facilities by vehicle manufacturers and component producers in the form of manuals or by means of electronic media (e.g. CD-ROM, on-line services).

Article 3 - Scope

1. This Directive shall cover vehicles and end-of life vehicles, including their components and materials. Without prejudice to Article 5(4), third subparagraph, this shall apply irrespective of how the vehicle has been serviced or repaired during use and irrespective of whether it is equipped with components supplied by the producer or with other components whose fitting as spare or replacement parts accords with the appropriate Community provisions or domestic provisions.

2. 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 and the protection of soil and water.

3. Where a producer only makes or imports vehicles that are exempt from Directive 70/156/EEC by virtue of Article 8(2)(a) thereof, Member States may exempt that producer and his vehicles from Articles 7(4), 8 and 9 of this Directive.

4. 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 Article 7 of this Directive.

5. For three-wheel motor vehicles only Articles 5(1), 5(2) and 6 of this Directive shall apply.

Article 4 - Prevention

1. In order to promote the prevention of waste Member States shall encourage, in particular:

(a) vehicle manufacturers, in liaison with material and equipment manufacturers, to limit 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 need to dispose of hazardous waste;

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

(c) 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. (a) Member States shall ensure that materials and components of vehicles put on the market after 1 July 2003 do not contain lead, mercury, cadmium or hexavalent chromium other than in cases listed in Annex II under the conditions specified therein;

(b) in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 11 the Commission shall on a regular basis, according to technical and scientific progress, amend Annex II, in order to:

(i) as necessary, establish maximum concentration values up to which the existence of the substances referred to in subparagraph (a) in specific materials and components of vehicles shall be tolerated;

(ii) exempt certain materials and components of vehicles from the provisions of subparagraph (a) if the use of these substances is unavoidable;

(iii) delete materials and components of vehicles from Annex II if the use of these substances is avoidable;

(iv) under points (i) and (ii) designate those materials and components of vehicles that can be stripped before further treatment; they shall be labelled or made identifiable by other appropriate means;

(c) the Commission shall amend Annex II for the first time not later than 21 October 2001. In any case none of the exemptions listed therein shall be deleted from the Annex before 1 January 2003.

Article 5 - Collection

1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure:

- that economic operators set up systems for the collection of all end-of life vehicles and, as far as technically feasible, of waste used parts removed when passenger cars are repaired,

- the adequate availability of collection facilities within their territory.

2. Member States shall also take the necessary measures to ensure that all end-of life vehicles are transferred to authorised treatment facilities.

3. Member States shall set up a system according to which the presentation of a certificate of destruction is a condition for deregistration of the end-of life vehicle. This certificate shall be issued to the holder and/or owner when the end-of life vehicle is transferred to a treatment facility. Treatment facilities, which have obtained a permit in accordance with Article 6, shall be permitted to issue a certificate of destruction. Member States may permit producers, dealers and collectors on behalf of an authorised treatment facility to issue certificates of destruction provided that they guarantee that the end-of life vehicle is transferred to an authorised treatment facility and provided that they are registered with public authorities.

Issuing the certificate of destruction by treatment facilities or dealers or collectors on behalf of an authorised treatment facility does not entitle them to claim any financial reimbursement, except in cases where this has been explicitly arranged by Member States.

Member States which do not have a deregistration system at the date of entry into force of this Directive shall set up a system according to which a certificate of destruction is notified to the relevant competent authority when the end-of life vehicle is transferred to a treatment facility and shall otherwise comply with the terms of this paragraph. Member States making use of this subparagraph shall inform the Commission of the reasons thereof.

4. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the delivery of the vehicle to an authorised treatment facility in accordance with paragraph 3 occurs without any cost for the last holder and/or owner as a result of the vehicle's having no or a negative market value.

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that producers meet all, or a significant part of, the costs of the implementation of this measure and/or take back end-of life vehicles under the same conditions as referred to in the first subparagraph.

Member States may provide that the delivery of end-of life vehicles is not fully free of charge if the end-of life vehicle does not contain the essential components of a vehicle, in particular the engine and the coachwork, or contains waste which has been added to the end-of life vehicle.

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 European Parliament and the Council an amendment thereto.

5. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that competent authorities mutually recognise and accept the certificates of destruction issued in other Member States in accordance with paragraph 3. To this end, the Commission shall draw up, not later than 21 October 2001 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 in accordance with the general requirements laid down in Article 4 of Directive 75/442/EEC, and in compliance with the minimum technical requirements set out in Annex I to this Directive, without prejudice to national regulations on health and environment.

2. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that any establishment or undertaking carrying out treatment operations obtains a permit from or be registered with the competent authorities, in compliance with Articles 9, 10 and 11 of Directive 75/442/EEC.

The derogation from the permit requirement referred to in Article 11(1)(b) of Directive 75/442/EEC may apply to recovery operations concerning waste of end-of life vehicles after they have been treated according to Annex 1(3) to this Directive if there is an inspection by the competent authorities before the registration. This inspection shall verify:

(a) type and quantities of waste to be treated;

(b) general technical requirements to be complied with;

(c) safety precautions to be taken,

in order to achieve the objectives referred to in Article 4 of Directive 75/442/EEC. This inspection shall take place once a year. Member States using the derogation shall send the results to the Commission.

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 in accordance with Annex I:

(a) end-of life vehicles shall be stripped before further treatment or other equivalent arrangements are made in order to reduce any adverse impact on the environment. Components or materials labelled or otherwise made identifiable in accordance with Article 4(2) shall be stripped before further treatment;

(b) hazardous materials and components shall be removed and segregated in a selective way so as not to contaminate subsequent shredder waste from end-of life vehicles;

(c) stripping operations and storage shall be carried out in such a way as to ensure the suitability of vehicle components for reuse and recovery, and in particular for recycling.

Treatment operations for depollution of end-of life vehicles as referred to in Annex I(3) shall be carried out as soon as possible.

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

5. Member States shall encourage establishments or undertakings, which carry out treatment operations to introduce, certified environmental management systems.

Article 7 - Reuse and recovery

1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to encourage the reuse of components which are suitable for reuse, the recovery of components which cannot be reused and the giving of preference to recycling when environmentally viable, without prejudice to requirements regarding the safety of vehicles and environmental requirements such as air emissions and noise control.

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 2006, for all end-of life vehicles, the reuse and recovery shall be increased to a minimum of 85 % by an average weight per vehicle and year. Within the same time limit the reuse and recycling shall be increased to a minimum of 80 % by an average weight per vehicle and year;

for vehicles produced before 1 January 1980, Member States may lay down lower targets, but not lower than 75 % for reuse and recovery and not lower than 70 % for reuse and recycling. Member States making use of this subparagraph shall inform the Commission and the other Member States of the reasons therefor;

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

By 31 December 2005 at the latest the European Parliament and the Council shall re-examine the targets referred to in paragraph (b) on the basis of a report of the Commission, accompanied by a proposal. In its report the Commission shall take into account the development of the material composition of vehicles and any other relevant environmental aspects related to vehicles.

The Commission shall, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 11, establish the detailed rules necessary to control compliance of Member States with the targets set out in this paragraph. In doing so the Commission shall take into account all relevant factors, inter alia the availability of data and the issue of exports and imports of end-of life vehicles. The Commission shall take this measure not later than 21 October 2002.

3. On the basis of a proposal from the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council shall establish targets for reuse and recovery and for reuse and recycling for the years beyond 2015.

4. In order to prepare an amendment to Directive 70/156/EEC, the Commission shall promote the preparation of European standards relating to the dismantlability, recoverability and recyclability of vehicles. Once the standards are agreed, but in any case no later than by the end of 2001, the European Parliament and 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 three years after the amendment of the Directive 70/156/EEC are re-usable and/or recyclable to a minimum of 85 % by weight per vehicle and are re-usable and/or recoverable to a minimum of 95 % by weight per vehicle.

5. In proposing the amendment to Directive 70/156/EEC relating to the ability to be dismantled, recoverability and recyclability of vehicles, the Commission shall take into account as appropriate the need to ensure that the reuse of components does not give rise to safety or environmental hazards.

Article 8 - Coding standards/dismantling information

1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that producers, in concert with material and equipment manufacturers, use component and material coding standards, in particular to facilitate the identification of those components and materials which are suitable for reuse and recovery.

2. Not later than 21 October 2001 the Commission shall, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 11 establish the standards referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. In so doing, the Commission shall take account of the work going on in this area in the relevant international forums and contribute to this work as appropriate.

3. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that producers provide dismantling information for each type of new vehicle put on the market within six months after the vehicle is put on the market. This information shall 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, in particular with a view to the achievement of the objectives laid down in Article 7.

4. Without prejudice to commercial and industrial confidentiality, Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that manufacturers of components used in vehicles make available to authorised treatment facilities, as far as it is requested by these facilities, appropriate information concerning dismantling, storage and testing of components which can be reused.

Article 9 - Reporting and information

1. At three-year intervals Member States shall send a report to the Commission on the implementation of this Directive. The report shall be drawn up on the basis of a questionnaire or outline drafted by the Commission in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 6 of Directive 91/692/EEC(8) with a view to establishing databases on end-of life vehicles and their treatment. The report shall contain relevant information on possible changes in the structure of motor vehicle dealing and of the collection, dismantling, shredding, recovery and recycling industries, leading to any distortion of competition between or within Member States. The questionnaire or outline shall be sent to the Member States six months before the start of the period covered by the report. The report shall be made to the Commission within nine months of the end of the three-year period covered by it.

The first report shall cover the period of three years from 21 April 2002.

Based on the above information, the Commission shall publish a report on the implementation of this Directive within nine months of receiving the reports from the Member States.

2. Member States shall require in each case the relevant economic operators to publish information on:

- the design of vehicles and their components with a view to their recoverability and recyclability,

- the environmentally sound treatment of end-of life vehicles, in particular the removal of all fluids and dismantling,

- the development and optimisation of ways to reuse, recycle and recover end-of life vehicles and their components,

- the progress achieved with regard to recovery and recycling to reduce the waste to be disposed of and to increase the recovery and recycling rates.

The producer must make this information accessible to the prospective buyers of vehicles. It shall be included in promotional literature used in the marketing of the new vehicle.

Article 10 - Implementation

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 21 April 2002. They shall immediately inform the Commission thereof.

When Member States adopt these measures, these shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such a reference shall be laid down by Member States.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of domestic law, which they adopt in the field governed by this Directive.

3. Provided that the objectives set out in this Directive are achieved, Member States may transpose the provisions set out in Articles 4(1), 5(1), 7(1), 8(1), 8(3) and 9(2) and specify the detailed rules of implementation of Article 5(4) by means of agreements between the competent authorities and the economic sectors concerned. Such agreements shall meet the following requirements

(a) agreements shall be enforceable;

(b) agreements need to specify objectives with the corresponding deadlines;

(c) agreements shall be published in the national official journal or an official document equally accessible to the public and transmitted to the Commission;

(d) the results achieved under an agreement shall be monitored regularly, reported to the competent authorities and to the Commission and made available to the public under the conditions set out in the agreement;

(e) the competent authorities shall make provisions to examine the progress reached under an agreement;

(f) in case of non-compliance with an agreement Member States must implement the relevant provisions of this Directive by legislative, regulatory or administrative measures.

Article 11 - Committee procedure

1. The Commission shall be assisted by the committee established by Article 18 of Directive 75/442/EEC, hereinafter referred to as 'the Committee'.

2. Where reference is made to this Article, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three months.

3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

4. The Commission, according to the procedure laid down in this Article, shall adopt:

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

(b) the detailed rules referred to in Article 7(2), third subparagraph;

(c) the formats relating to the database system referred to in Article 9;

(d) the amendments necessary for adapting the Annexes to this Directive to scientific and technical progress.

Article 12 - Entry into force

1. This Directive shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

2. Article 5(4) shall apply:

- as from 1 July 2002 for vehicles put on the market as from this date,

- as from 1 January 2007 for vehicles put on the market before the date referred to in the first indent.

3. Member States may apply Article 5(4) in advance of the dates set out in paragraph 2.

Article 13 - Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.