The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has come up with guidelines on how to deal with end-of-life vehicles, or ELVs—nearly 22 million are expected to reach that stage in just a decade—amid growing concern about the health and environmental hazards posed by them.
There are an estimated 8.7 million ELVs at present—but even so India has no proper law or rules to regulate the sector.
CPCB, the nation’s apex pollution control body, on Thursday published specific guidelines to regulate ELVs, recommending that the Union environment ministry draft the necessary legislative framework for the sector.
Around 80% of the 22 million ELVs expected by 2025 are expected to be two-wheelers.
Proper management, treatment and disposal of vehicles at the end of their life have become a pressing problem for India, especially because of the well-known environmental and health effects associated with improper recycling by untrained scrap dealers and dismantlers.
The “Guidelines for Environmentally Sound Management (ESM) of ELVs” advocates disposing of such vehicles in an environmentally friendly manner and recommends a system of “shared responsibility” involving all stakeholders—the government, manufacturers, recyclers, dealers, insurers and consumers.
CPCB wants manufacturers to play a key role in the “shared responsibility” model, to not only fulfil their environmental responsibility but also to take advantage of the business opportunities and recovery potential emerging from the handling of ELVs.
The guideline suggested that State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) maintain a registry of vehicles “that have been declared ELV” with transport offices working in partnership with the local municipalities. For instance, the exercise could be carried out to identify abandoned vehicles within a municipal area for deregistration.
SPCBs would be responsible for the registration of dismantlers and recyclers of ELVs and would also be providing clearances for the inter-state transfer of ELVs for dismantling and recycling.
The central board said transport offices should periodically review the registration of heavy vehicles and four- or two- wheelers so that the environment is not harmed by the continued use of polluting vehicles.
The board also called for a massive awareness campaign aimed at sensitizing stakeholders like consumers about the environmental hazards posed by ELVs.
While ELVs are no longer fit for transportation purposes, they contain large quantities of metal and other materials that, if salvaged or recycled, can be once again fed into the economy. In turn, the use of primary materials can be reduced and pressure on the environment eased.
Hazardous substances in ELVs include waste oil, lubricants, lead acid batteries, lamps, electronic components, air bags, and others. Their recovery by unskilled scrap worker is often harmful to their health and if improperly dismantled or disposed they cause environmental contamination too. The guidelines also drew attention towards growing amount of electronics and plastics waste in ELVs.
“The ministry of environment, forests and climate change may develop this framework in consultation with all the other concerned ministries,” said the guidelines.
The board said that given its experience in setting up an ELV recycling plant, the ministry of heavy industries and public enterprises should take the lead in promoting the development of such infrastructure in partnership with the private sector.
ELVs are broadly divided into Natural ELVs and Premature ELVs. Natural ELVs refer to those vehicles that have come to the end of life due to wear and tear. Premature ELVs refer to those vehicles that have reached the stage due to other reasons, such as an accident, fire, flood or vandalism.
According to the definition provided in European Union Directive, 2000, “end-of-life” means a vehicle which is no more than waste.
The last owner usually designates a given vehicle as an ELV once it is no longer safe to drive or does not comply with emission standards. In certain cases a vehicle is considered end-of life simply due to its age.
