EU ELV proposal to require cars to contain 25% recycled plastic

        On July 13, 2023, the European Commission published a proposal for a regulation on End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV). In line with the European Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan, the ELV proposal is based on and will replace two existing directives: Directive 2000/53/EC on End-of-Life Vehicles and Directive 2005/64/EC. The European Parliament and the Council will consider this proposal in the ordinary legislative procedure.

        Background of the ELV Proposal

        The automotive industry is one of the largest consumers of primary materials such as steel, aluminum, copper and plastics, but rarely uses recycled materials. The automotive industry in Europe accounts for 10% of total plastic consumption, equivalent to 6 million tons per year. Although the recycling rate of scrapped cars is generally high, the quality of scrap metal is low, and only 19% of plastics are recycled, and electronics and composite materials are almost impossible to recycle. In order to achieve effective management of scrapped vehicles, the EU issued the ELV Directive (2000/53/EC) in 2000 to manage M1 and N1 vehicles; in 2005, the EU again issued the 3R Directive (2005/64/EC), further requiring all M1 and N1 vehicles entering the EU market with an annual production of more than 1,500 units to undergo mandatory 3R type certification.

        With the introduction of relevant policies such as the EU Green Agreement and the major changes in the automotive industry over the past 20 years, the ELV Directive needs to be systematically evaluated and revised to ensure that the ELV Directive can adapt to the current policy and industrial development background.

        In October 2020, the EU released the ELV Directive Revision Roadmap, which mainly introduced the next revision direction of the ELV Directive from the aspects of background, existing problems, goals and revision ideas.

        In March 2021, the European Commission completed the assessment of Directive 2000/53/EC on scrapped vehicles, which identified various shortcomings of the ELV Directive.

        In July 2021, the EU officially launched a public consultation on the roadmap.

        The proposed regulation is in line with the goals of the European Green Deal and the New Circular Economy Action Plan to achieve a more sustainable and resilient automotive industry. It is closely related to and supports the implementation of several important legislative initiatives, including the Critical Raw Materials Act, the Battery Regulation, the Waste Framework Directive, the WEEE Directive and the Sustainable Product Ecodesign Regulation.

        Key elements of the ELV proposal

        The revised regulation aims first and foremost to improve circularity in vehicle design while strengthening the single market. The proposal sets out a series of requirements to ensure that new cars are designed in a way that facilitates recycling and reuse at the end of their life cycle.

        Secondly, the proposal aims to increase the use of recycled materials in new cars. New cars should contain at least 25% recycled plastics. The proposal also allows the Commission to set targets for recycled steel, recycled metals and aluminium, based on an appropriate assessment of their added value and feasibility.

        The third objective is to increase the quantity, quality and value of ELV reuse and recovery materials. To this end, valuable parts and materials should be removed from ELVs before shredding, and waste treatment should be improved to achieve high-quality recycling.

        The fourth objective is to increase the collection of ELVs to reduce the number of “missing vehicles”. This will be achieved through new traceability and control measures.

        The fifth objective is to ensure a fair distribution of the costs of managing end-of-life vehicles between economic operators. Producers must ensure that vehicles are properly handled at the end of their life cycle.

        Finally, the scope of the current legislation is gradually extended to other vehicle categories, including trucks, buses and motorcycles.