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� Action has been taken against The Netherlands because of issues concerning
the definition of ‘treatment’ and the promotion of certified environmental
management systems in treatment plants; and
� In 2003, the European Court of Justice condemned the UK for non
transposition of the Directive by the time required (21 April 2002) and
condemned the UK government to pay the costs of judgment.
GHK, and Bio Intelligence Service (2006) concluded that neither the environmental or
economic benefits are fully realised because of the lack of full implementation and
enforcement of the Directive.
Some mitigation of illegal activities could be provided if the country implements an
‘own marque’ scheme. 523 It is believed that this responsibility will mean that vehicle
manufacturers will have more of a direct interest in their own vehicles, from, as it
were, ‘cradle to grave’, and thus will have an incentive to minimise the likelihood of
their vehicles ending up being used illegally, where they can exercise some control
over this. However, in the UK, for example, producers may discharge their obligations
by contracting with authorised treatment facilities (ATFs) or by entering into
arrangements with the motor insurance industry and/or vehicle salvage operators
directly. Hence, no strong evidence exists to support the argument either way.
Additionally, the European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of
Environmental Law (IMPEL) is concerned about the level of illegal shipments of ELVs.
Czararnomski et al note that some enforcement issues have arisen because of the
disparity in definitions between ‘waste’ and ‘second hand goods’. 524 Furthermore, a
final conclusion is that the ELV directive has had the likely effect of increasing illegal
exports, particularly to Africa and Eastern Europe. To further clarify these issues a
paper is being prepared by Ireland with the aim to carry out a threat assessment on
the Transfrontier Shipment of waste (TFS) from the European Union. This study was
still included on IMPEL’s 2008 work programme, so it is not thought that it has been
published to date.
23.12 Lessons Learned
As an EU Member State Ireland is obligated to meet the requirements and targets set
out in the ELV Directive. The following points highlight the main issues that could be
useful to a country aiming to both meet these targets on time, and improve
environmental performance from the treatment of their ELVs:
� Effective Effective phase phase out out of of heavy heavy metals: metals: The phase out of heavy metals has been
effective due to the clear signal given to the industry that this was going to
523 DTI (2005) Full Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) for the Department of Trade and Industry’s
Statutory Instrument, The End of Life Vehicles (Producer responsibility) Regulations 2005, Transposing
Articles 5 and 7 of Directive 2000/53/EC1 of the European Parliament and of the Council on End of
Life Vehicles in the UK, Report for DTI.
524 S. Czararnomski, A. Holmes and B. Webb (2006) IMPEL_TFS THREAT ASSESSMENT PROJECT: The
Illegal Shipment of Waste Among IMPEL Member States, Project Report for IMPEL.
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