§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has to date on corporate projects to dismantle and recycle cars in(a) the United Kingdom and (b) the remainder of European Economic Community countries.
§ Mr. Leigh[holding answer 25 November 1991]: I am aware of a number of initiatives being taken with regard to the dismantling and recycling of motor cars. In the United Kingdom, for example, BMW (GB) Ltd. has announced a pilot recycling and disassembly scheme and the Rover Group has announced plans to undertake a programme of research with the Bird Group—one of the leading United Kingdom and European materials reclamation and recycling organisations—which aims to establish the optimum level of disassembly as well as standards covering a wide range of marques. I am also aware of the proposal for an industry steering group whose initial function would be to initiate action and to co-ordinate information on the range of projects being undertaken.
Elsewhere in Europe, we are aware that BMW—who are co-operating closely with other manufacturers—have a pilot disassembly plant at Landshut and have opened an operational recycling centre in Munich. Also in Germany, GM Europe—Opel Vauxhall—has initiated a programme with RED Darmstadt and Ford have started a vehicle dismantling plant at Cologne. In France, the PSA Group—Peugeot/Citroen—has established a joint project, near Lyon, with a scrap metal processor and a cement maker to remove pollutants, to recover metals, and to produce fuel pellets from the residues. The results from all of these projects will be applied in the United Kingdom.
Additionally on the European front, the European Commission—DGXI—has designated end-of-life vehicles as a priority waste stream and discussions will start next month on identifying the scale of the problem and ways in which it can be tackled.
Recycling is not new to the motor industry. About 75 per cent. of the material in the average car is already recovered and there is a long commercial tradition in the United Kingdom of recycling car batteries, of reconditioning engines, gear boxes and radiators and a variety of other used parts.