If you’re making plans to scrap your car, you may see websites and documents referring to ‘ELVs’, ‘end of life vehicles’ or ‘end of life cars’.
Here, we’ll explain what these terms mean – and go into a little more detail about the Government’s End of Life Vehicle Directive.
What makes a car an ELV?
There is no legally set end of life vehicle definition; the decision to consider a vehicle as having come to its end of life is generally made by the person who owns it. In many cases, this will be an individual deciding that it no longer makes sense to run the car – either as a result of wear and wear, or accident related damage.
In other cases, a company will decide whether a vehicle should be considered an ELV. This most commonly occurs when an insurance company has ‘paid out’ – and therefore taken legal ownership of an accident damaged car.
Different types of ELV
Not all ELVs are considered the same. In fact, there are 2 main categories of ELV:
- Natural ELVs: These are vehicles that have come to the end of their life, either because of age-related technical failures – or because they are no longer economical to repair.
- Premature ELVs: These are younger vehicles that would not be expected to fail technically – but have been written-off as a result of an accident or damage.
Don’t panic if you have a vintage or classic vehicle though! While some definitions might deem an older car (or one that requires restoration) not to be economically viable – they are not covered by end of life vehicle regulations.
End of life vehicle disposal
Every year, millions of tons of waste are generated when cars are scrapped – and it’s important this waste is managed correctly. When it is decided that a car will become an ELV, it must be handled, dismantled and disposed of in a way that is as environmentally friendly as possible.
In the UK, end of life vehicles can only be dismantled by Authorised Treatment Facilities (ATFs). When a car is collected by or delivered to an ATF, it is considered hazardous waste and is handled in line with end of life vehicle regulations – created in 2003, but updated in 2015 to this current version.
When the ATF that is handling your car confirms with the DVLA that it has been processed following these regulations, a certificate of destruction (COD) is generated, and the vehicle is deregistered.
Car.co.uk and ELVs
At Car.co.uk, we take the regulations that surround end of life vehicle disposal very seriously. We only work with scrap yards and dismantlers that meet the government’s strict ATF approval and follow UK vehicle end of life legislation.
As a result, you can be sure that when you use our service, your ELV is being handled in a way that limits any harm to the environment.