You have an old car at the end of its life, and you want to dispose of it, so what do you do? An end-of-life vehicle (ELV) is a car or light commercial vehicle (of less than 3.5 tonnes) which is due to be disposed of or scrapped. So, when a car gets old and cannot be used anymore, it becomes an End of Life Vehicle. It's important to recycle and dispose of ELVs properly so they don't harm the environment.
You must dispose of an end-of-life vehicle using licensed Authorised Treatment Facilities (ATFs). ATFs are sites that have a Waste Facility Permit issued by the local authority saying they are able to accept End-of-Life Vehicles (normally known as scrap cars and small vans). These are also called permitted scrapyards. End of life vehicles contain hazardous materials that can damage the environment. They can pose a risk to public health if not disposed of in a safe manner. For example, vehicles contain lead acid batteries, lubricating oil, coolant, brake fluid, and catalytic convertors.
To help you to identify an Approved Treatment Facilities, most will advertise that they are an Authorised Treatment Facility and will display their Waste Facility Permit number at the entrance to the facility.
A Waste Facility Permit number will look something like this: WFP–L–14-45-01. Alternatively you can check on the Local Authority Waste Facility Register to see if a site has a Permit. To be an ATF their Permit should include the List of Waste (LoW) Code '16 01 04* end-of-life vehicles'. Please see permit search guide below.
A Guide to NWCPO Permit Search
A list of Authorised Treatment Facilities (ATFs) in your area can be obtained from the National Waste Collection Permit Office website by logging on at www.nwcpo.ie and carrying out the following steps:
- Click on “Local Authority Waste Facility Register”.
- Click on search “By LoW & LA Areas”.
- Click on “Select LA Areas” and select “Limerick City and County”.
- Click on “Choose a LoW Code” and select “16 01 04* end-of-life-vehicles”.
- Click on Authorisation Reference/WFP Reference (in blue) to gain access to contact details and waste types accepted by the facility.
The Authorised Treatment Facility will issue you with a Certificate of Destruction which will confirm that the vehicle will be de-polluted and dismantled in an environmentally safe manner (scrapped correctly).
The facility will then notify the Vehicle Registration Unit in Shannon and the destruction of your vehicle will be noted in the National Vehicle File. The only document you need to give the facility is the Vehicle Registration Certificate (RF101) or the log book for the car.
How much does it cost?
Where an authorised treatment facility accepts an end-of-life vehicle from the registered owner, no charge may be imposed by the facility on the owner of that vehicle once the vehicle is intact or does not have refuse added to it. However, authorised Waste Collectors do charge for their services.
If you (or an authorised treatment facility) dispose of an end-of-life vehicle illegally, you are committing a criminal offence. A Fixed Penalty notice may be issued in these circumstances.