Abandoned cars to rise by 45,000 vehicles a week - Doughty

Britain is facing a rising car mountain when the processing of end-of-life vehicles comes to a complete standstill this weekend, the Liberal Democrats warned today.

Sue Doughty MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Minister, has slammed the Government for allowing the situation to arise that could mean 45,000 vehicles a week being dumped illegally.

From today (Friday) the co-disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste becomes illegal under the requirements of the 1999 Landfill Directive. Because Ministers have left a cloud of confusion over how the residual waste from recycling vehicles should be classified, the waste will not be accepted at either type of site, and abandoned cars will start to stack up.

Commenting, Sue Doughty MP said:

"The Government has completely failed to prepare for today's changes and the effects will make the fridge mountain look like a mole hill.

"With nowhere for local authorities or industry to store the vehicles they will soon start clogging up our streets. And the knock-on effects on the British steel industry could be devastating. Without the recycled metal from vehicles, the industry is warning there may be immediate job losses.

"Dealing with this mess must now be a top priority for the Government. The consequences of failing to get the recycling process running again are unthinkable."

Sue Doughty has written to the Secretaries of State at DEFRA and the DTI, and the Deputy Prime Minster, calling for them to give their personal attention to the immediate resolution of the problem.