‘Dodgy dismantlers’ put millions of car owners at risk 10/11/2006 Car owners who take their vehicles to unauthorised dismantlers could be landed with unnecessary road tax bills, fines or prosecution, according to Reycycleyourcar.co.uk, the website designed to help drivers find their nearest Authorised Treatment Facility (ATF).   The End of Life Vehicles Directive (ELV), which has recently come into force in the UK, makes the last owner of a vehicle responsible for ensuring their ELV is disposed of in an environmentally-sound way by a registered ATF. However, a survey carried out by the Reycycleyourcar.co.uk initiative indicated that more than 90% of car drivers had not heard of the legislation.   “The ELV Directive prescribes the issuing of a Certificate of Destruction (CoD) when a vehicle is delivered by its last owner to an Authorised Treatment Facility (ATF) to be recycled,” explains Recycleyourcar.co.uk’s Derek Campbell. “The certificate acts as proof that a vehicle has been destroyed - meaning the owner’s car tax and other obligations are at an end. But it also shows that the car has gone through the correct recycling processes, ensuring minimal environmental damage.”   Across Great Britain, every year, in excess of two million vehicles reach the end of their useful lives. Many hazardous materials exist in a vehicle such as oil and lead and these need to be properly recovered to ensure they do not escape into the environment.  “Everyone knows that illegal operators are rife in the ELV sector,” states Campbell. “The Environment Agency does not have the resources nor the legislative framework to effectively control these people, so it is up to the owners of ELVs to ensure the disposal of their vehicle does not add to the huge landfill problem we have in the UK.”   And if those startling figures still aren’t enough to encourage some ELV owners to comply with legislation, the threat of thousands of pounds of fines or prosecution just might. If ELV owners don’t obtain a CoD, they could be liable for continued road tax bills. In addition, if the car is subsequently abandoned, under the Clean Neighbourhood Act, 2005, a local authority is now able to issue a £200 fixed penalty for the dumping of a car and under the refuse disposal act, an illegal dumper could be fined up to £2500 and face three months in prison.   Ends. For more information on www.recycleyourcar.co.uk, please contact Carina Hill or Richard Postins at Prova on 01926 776900.   Notes to editors:   Recycleyourcar.co.uk is an initiative from Sims Group UK Limited. Its aim is to provide the UK car owner with an easy to use facility for finding their nearest authorised treatment facility.   Sims Group also aims to provide, through www.recycleyourcar.co.uk a total package of support for independent authorised treatment facilities across the country.   Sims Group UK Limited is the European subsidiary of Sims Group Limited, the world’s leading ferrous and non-ferrous metals recyclers, with operations in Australia, North America, Canada, New Zealand, China and South East Asia.   Established in 1995, Sims Group UK now incorporates multiple sites to form a strong network of collection, processing and export facilities. With sales of over 2 million tonnes of recycled metal per annum, the company is one of the UK’s largest metals recyclers.