Archived decisions

Contact: Kevin Fuller, ext 7958

1. Summary

1.1 This report outlines the issues associated with dealing with abandoned vehicles, the legislative framework and division of responsibilities between authorities.

2. Background

2.1 The reduction in the value of scrap vehicles and glut in the second hand car market has increased the number of abandoned and dumped vehicles throughout the UK. In Hampshire there has been a corresponding increase in abandoned vehicles. The cost to Hampshire County Council in dealing with the storage and disposal of these vehicles has increased as follows:

2.2 Local Authorities have a statutory duty under the Refuse Disposal and Amenity Act 1978 and the Removal and Disposal of Vehicles Regulations 1986 to remove vehicles abandoned in the open air. District Councils have responsibility under the legislation for the collection and removal and the County Council has the responsibility for their storage and disposal. In Hampshire however, the District Councils undertake the storage and disposal and this is fully reimbursed by the County Council.

2.3 In recognition of the problem, and also the environmental consequences relating to the disposal of vehicles, Central Government has introduced the End of Life Vehicle (ELV) Directive to regulate and control the disposal of end of life vehicles. This directive requires that:

(i) from April 2002 end of life vehicles cannot be removed from the official records until a certificate of destruction has been issued;

(ii) from 2007 the vehicle producer is required to meet all or a significant part of the cost of collection and treatment of vehicles that have no or negative value. This is to be managed by way of a `take back' scheme; and

(iii) ELVs can only be scrapped (treated) by authorised dismantlers or shredders, who must meet tightened environmental treatment standards from the outset. Reuse and recycling targets are set on an increasing scale.

3. Impact on Local Authorities

3.1 The cost of dealing with abandoned vehicles falls upon the District and County Councils until the ELV directive `take back' scheme comes into effect in 2007. In recognition of this issue, however, the Government has made £25 million available for the UK for the three years beginning 2003/04 to help meet costs. The Refuse Disposal Act makes provision for the local authority to recover £75 disposal cost from the owner of the vehicle. In practice, however, recovery of costs has not materialised because of difficulties in establishing the last owner and who abandoned the vehicle. The law is currently being changed to rectify this and clarify responsibilities.

4. Hampshire County Council Progress

4.1 A county-wide audit was carried out in 2001/02 to provide assurance that controls exercised by the District Councils for recording income and expenditure in relation to abandoned vehicles were adequate. Following the audit results, a county-wide working party involving all districts will be set up to address new policy and working procedures.

4.2 The storage and disposal times vary across the districts throughout the county. Improvements have been achieved to ensure that abandoned vehicles are dealt with promptly and within the legal notification period and protocols:

(i) currently 7 days: vehicle no value - law change 24 hours;

(ii) currently 21 days: vehicle with value - law change 7-14 days.

4.3 A review of the existing scrap-yards in Hampshire has been undertaken to assess whether the vehicle dismantling facilities meet the new recycling and part reuse targets. Work is continuing on this and also the land-use issues associated with current operations needed to meet the new directive requirements.

4.4 The Hazardous Household Waste Regulations apply to material generated by normal domestic households and cover products such as fluorescent tubes, batteries and paints/solvents. The ELV Regulations cover everything involved in the dismantling of vehicles and specifically identifies products such as fluids and compound materials as hazardous.

The county and district authorities comply with both sets of Regulations because only licensed, authorised treatment centres are used for the disposal of vehicles. There may be an increase in the cost of disposal but this is hoped to be offset by reduced administration and collection costs by having a single contract county-wide scheme.

Natural Resources

4.5 The management and regulation of ELVs is a key element of the Natural Resources project to introduce sustainable solutions to a range of activities, with involvement from the responsible authorities and the industry as partnership arrangements.

Recommendation

That this report be noted.

7867/KFr