The Environment Agency and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have confirmed that non-recyclable material left over from recycling end-of-life vehicles (ELV) can be burnt and included in ELV recovery targets for the first time.

Left-over materials such as plastic, foam, textiles and wood, known as auto shredder residue (ASR), can now be recovered via thermal processing and used as energy rather than being sent straight to landfill, as was previously the case.

According to the British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA), 85 per cent of materials from end-of-life vehicles such as metals, glass and rubber, can currently be recovered in the UK, but with the new decision, almost all of the material could now be recycled or recovered.

This could mean that approximately 800,000 tonnes of ASR could be diverted from landfill and used to produce electricity or plastics instead, helping the UK reach the EU’s 2015 ELV recovery target of 95 per cent.

Speaking on the decision to allow ASR into recovery targets, a spokesperson at Defra told Resource: "Defra, the Environment Agency and industry have had lengthy negotiations over the conditions under which the burning of automotive shredder residue to produce energy would be considered a ‘recovery’ operation and thus count towards meeting new higher targets being introduced under the End-of-life Vehicles Directive from 2015.

"In so doing Defra and the Environment Agency are keen to strike the optimum balance between encouraging industry to adopt energy recovery of ASR in the UK, while seeking energy efficiency levels that are realistic for first generation plants of this type and where the carbon costs are reflected through the EU Emissions Trading Scheme."

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency told Resource: “The key here is helping business deal with residual waste responsibly, in accordance with the waste hierarchy. When everything useful has been removed, the remaining ASR, which is a plastic ‘fluff’ like material, still has an energy value. That energy can be recovered and our role is to decide if sufficient is recovered to meet the EU’s revised Waste Framework Directive requirements. So it can officially be designated as a recovery activity rather than disposal.”

The spokesperson added that ‘clarity was needed now’ because of the Producer Responsibility requirement under the End-of-life Vehicles Directive to achieve at least 95 per cent reuse, recycling and recovery from January 2015.

“Energy recovery is one way of dealing with ASR. We want industry to make the best possible use of this material using other imaginative solutions as well”, he added.

Speaking after the EA and Defra’s decision, Ian Hetherington, Director General of BMRA said: “This is a long awaited decision which represents the best outlet for the material which until now could only be landfilled. The UK metal recycling industry has been waiting for a positive decision in order for them to determine how best to drive up recycling rates for end-of-life vehicles while generating growth for the sector and the country.

“For more than two years, BMRA and key players in the industry have been calling for government to be decisive in providing a policy framework in which the UK metals recycling industry can take a lead in the advanced recovery of end-of-life consumer goods in Europe. Now with the right policy framework in place, the metals recycling industry will endeavour to retain a lead in developing materials recycling and recovery, whilst creating green jobs and growth in the sector.”

Read more about the End-of-life Vehicles Directive.