The End of Life Vehicle (ELV) regulations laid before Parliament this week set out environmental standards for the treatment and scrapping of old cars and vans, encouraging their reuse and recycling.

The regulations, due to come into effect on 3 November, outline how authorised handlers should dismantle, recycle and dispose of vehicle materials. In time, all fluids will need to be removed, and certain parts dismantled before scrapping. They also include provisions on vehicle manufacturers when designing cars. These include:

- restricting the use of certain heavy metals in the construction of new vehicles; and - providing information on the materials used in a vehicle to aid in their reuse, recycling and disposal.

Stephen Timms, Trade Minister, said: "These new regulations are part of our strategy to improve the UK environment. Old cars and other vehicles produce a lot of waste material and we need to find new ways of encouraging their reuse and recycling. The new environmental standards are the first step in modernising our approach to dealing with this waste, which is around 2 million tonnes each year."

The Government will be consulting in the near future on how vehicle manufacturers and importers will take responsibility for providing free take- back for all ELVs from 2007 and achieving associated recycling targets.