End of Life Vehicles Directive

The End of Life Vehicles Directive is a Directive of the European Union addressing the end of life for automotive products. Every year, motor vehicles which have reached the end of their useful lives create between 8 and 9 million tonnes of waste in the European Union. In 1997, the European Commission adopted a Proposal for a Directive to tackle this problem.

The Directive on End-of Life Vehicle 2000/53/EC is the first EU waste directive with which the EU Commission has introduced the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility. The directive aims at reduction of waste arising from end-of-life vehicles. The scope of the directive is limited to passenger cars M1 and light commercial vehicles N1. The directive covers aspects along the life cycle of a vehicle as well as aspects related to treatment operations. As such it aims at:

With these targets set, the directive involves four major stakeholders, the producer, the recycling industry, the last holder and the authorities. Each has a responsibility within the realms of its unique possibility.

Waste has become an important part of EU policy. A framework of different regulations and directives exist to improve the management of waste in the EU and EFTA countries. EU policy can be separated into product related regulation such as the ELV Directive, WEEE Directive or Battery Directive to only name a few, general waste legislation such as the Waste Framework Directive or Waste Shipment Regulation, and treatment related legislation e.g. Landfill Directive, Incineration Directive. The product related waste regulation is subordinate to the general waste regulation. An important principle of product specific regulation is that a given product can not fall under the jurisdiction of two separate directives at the same time. For instance, the lead acid battery in an end-of-life vehicle is covered under the ELV Directive, whereas a lead-acid battery being a replacement part during life cycle of the vehicle is subject to the Battery Directive.

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