The European Union has adopted new rules to strengthen the circular economy in the automotive sector, with the aim of designing new vehicles in a way that facilitates the reuse, recycling and recovery of materials throughout their life cycle.
The Council of the EU announced that it had adopted on Monday the Regulation on circularity requirements in vehicle design and end-of-life management, completing the ordinary legislative procedure.
The regulation introduces obligations covering all stages, from design and production to the withdrawal of vehicles. It predicts that within six years at least 15% of plastic in new vehicles will have to come from recycled materials, a percentage that increases to 25% in ten years. At least 20% of recycled plastic should come from end-of-life vehicles.
Manufacturers will assume extended producer responsibility, covering both the design and the financial and organisational management of vehicles when they are turned into waste, including their free receipt and treatment.
Particular emphasis is placed on tackling so-called "missing vehicles", with enhanced traceability and stricter controls. Vehicles marked as end-of-life will be driven to authorised units and cannot be exported or resold as second-hand.
At the same time, the export of vehicles that are no longer fit for circulation is prohibited, with the aim of limiting the transport of pollution outside the EU and keeping valuable raw materials within the Union.
The new rules will be fully applicable to passenger and light commercial vehicles, while heavy-duty vehicles, motorcycles and special vehicles will be subject to a limited framework, mainly for end-of-life management.
According to the Council, more than six million end-of-life vehicles are produced annually in the EU. Although recycling has reached around 85%, Brussels notes that additional measures are needed to improve design and increase the use of recycled materials.
