What we do

Disposing of end-of-life vehicles can be a burden, but All Clear is an expert in its field, providing a professional, efficient service.

We use systems and procedures that have been developed and refined since the introduction of end-of-life legislations. Local Authorities we do business with have a professional service that is responsive and flexible, as well as providing all the management information reporting needed for performance monitoring.

Cars can no longer just be "scrapped", as per the Environment Agency Regulations
Cars have to be de-polluted in accordance with UK and EU legislation
85% of car materials have to be recycled. Soon, 95% of all materials will have to be recycled as per the European End-of-Life Vehicle Directive.

What is the End-of-Life Vehicle Directive?

In the early 1990’s, the European Parliament specifically targeted end-of-life vehicles as a “...priority waste-stream” for two significant reasons:

Because of concerns regarding the increasing amount of ‘waste’ produced during the disposal process of ELV’s, and
The generally poor environmental practices of the traditional car breakers and scrap yards that were responsible for the disposal of the majority of all ELV’s.

So to regulate this waste-stream, the first version of a law regarding ELV disposal emerged in 1997 and became a European Directive in October 2000. It was finally adopted as a UK law on the 21st April 2002.

What are the aims of the ELV Directive?

The main objectives of the Directive are to try and minimise the amount of waste generated from the ELV disposal process, whilst also reducing any adverse environmental impacts caused through current dismantling practices.

At present, approximately 75% of an end-of-life vehicle is recovered (by weight) via the conventional scrap metal recycling process. However, the recycling and recovery targets set by the ELV Directive are far more stringent, aiming for 85% by January 2006 and 95% by January 2015 – and these targets will only be achieved through the increased recycling, recovery and re-use of a vehicle’s components (in other words, by fully de-polluting each vehicle before scrapping it).

What is vehicle de-pollution?

Vehicle de-pollution is the newly developed treatment process that all end-of-life vehicles must undertake if they are to achieve the required levels of materials recycling and recovery stipulated by the ELV Directive.

The process basically involves two main functions:

The recovery of all positive components and fluids that may be recycled and re-used (e.g. fuels, oils, coolants, ferrous and non-ferrous metal components, etc.), and also
The removal of all those negative elements of a vehicle that are potentially harmful to the environment (e.g. tyres, mercury switches, airbags, etc).