Businesses that scrap cars will have to issue drivers with a certificate of destruction from next month.

Government regulations also mean that vehicle dismantlers will have to meet strict new environmental standards when scrapping cars.

The move, part of the EU End of Life Vehicles Directive, is a legal requirement that acts a precursor to the bulk of the legislation, due in 2007. It says pollutants like oil and brake fluids will have to be drained from cars before they are destroyed. Carmakers will be responsible for the cost of vehicle destruction.

Critics fear this cost could be passed on to drivers. But a Department of Trade and Industry spokesman says: “There will be no charge for this certificate. The regulation stipulates that no cost must be passed on to drivers. These regulations are the result of the analysis drawn from the consultation with the industry in May.”