SMMT to recycle ‘orphans’
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has introduced a service to help owners of ‘orphan’ manufacturers recycle parts from their car.
According to the SMMT there are about 700,000 orphan vehicles – brands that no longer have a UK dealer network – still on British roads. It says that parts recycled from this scheme will be available to purchase and could help alleviate the acknowledged shortage of spares for classic cars in the UK.
Under the End of Life Vehicles Directive when cars reach the end of their lives, they must be disposed of in an environmentally responsible way. However, while current manufacturers like Ford still provide this service free of charge, some motorists can face diffifificulties if the brand is no longer trading and has no parent company. When this happens, the car becomes what is known as an ‘orphan vehicle’.
The Society has now taken on responsibility for these vehicles by partnering with recycling company, Autogreen - the same company that is catering for Vauxhall’s scrappage scheme ( CCW 4 Nov 2015),
SMMT has said it has no confifirmed list of every manufacturer regarded as orphan, but says: ‘An orphan vehicle is from any brand no longer trading and has no parent company. This would therefore discount Saab as GM is still trading in the UK, but would include Rover and MG pre-2005, for example.’
Autogreen has committed to collect vehicles nationally free of charge for anyone who owns an ‘orphan vehicle’ and will attempt to recycle as many parts as possible.
No-one from Autogreen was available for comment, but Ben Foulds, senior press offifificer for the SMMT says: ‘Autogreen will be recycling parts from this scheme and making them available for purchase.’
Geoff Lancaster, communications director of the FBHVC adds: ‘While we always regret the destruction of signifificant or rare vehicles we accept that there is a legal obligation on the industry to facilitate an environmentally appropriate channel for recycling unwanted vehicles.
‘We therefore applaud the SMMT for taking responsibility for ‘orphan’ vehicles but would encourage anyone involved in recycling to consider the possibility of recycling components into the spare parts market where this can be done safely. Availability of spares is a huge issue for our movement and potentially this is a valuable channel.’
www.smmt.co.uk