Canadian automotive recyclers call for national approach to the environmental management of end-of-life vehicles

Automotive Recyclers of Canada (ARC) is calling for a national approach to the environmental management of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) in Canada.

In a submission to the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, ARC notes that although ELV processors are subject to a number of provincial and federal requirements, ELV management practices are highly variable.

“The lack of common processing standards for ELVs is significant,” the ARC submission states. “While used parts and scrap metal values are driving high recycling rates, ELVs also include a number of substances of concerns that incur costs when properly removed.

“It is common for many ELV processors to reduce costs by ignoring environmental standards with respect to these materials.”

ARC, which represents approximately 400 ELV recyclers and dismantlers throughout Canada, says this dynamic creates an uneven playing field in the sector. “While a number of vehicle recyclers operate to high environmental standards, with attendant high rates of reuse, recycling and minimal environmental discharges, the majority operate to no standard at all.”

To address the gap, ARC is calling for a national standard regarding ELV processing.

“In Ontario, the Ontario Automotive Recyclers Association (OARA), an ARC affiliate, has been working in collaboration with the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturer’s Association (CVMA) to create a licensing regime for vehicle recyclers in Ontario,” the ARC submission reads. “The CVMA and ARC believe that the core elements of that proposal represent objectives that are readily achievable throughout Canada.”

Those elements include the following:

• codifying the National Code of Practice for Automotive Recyclers in provincially set regulation;

• licensing or registering businesses engaged in ELV processing to ensure sector-wide compliance with that common environmental processing standard; and

• auditing and monitoring processors and reporting annually related to ELV recycling activity.