Echoing criticisms from a parliamentary Select Committee, the RMI fears that gaps in the Government's ELV proposals could leave dealers with dumped vehicles.

In its fourth report on EU waste directives published today, the House of Commons Environment Select Committee questions whether the 'own marque' system under which manufacturers are to be individually responsible for ELV dismantling costs from 2007 is the best way to implement the EU ELV Directive.

The Committee also questions the competence of Defra to acquit itself of its regulatory responsibilities for the ELV and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directives, and urges that the Environment Agency and local authorities respectively be adequately funded to police the regulations and deal with an expected increase in dumped cars.

The Committee pronounced sympathy with the vehicle dismantlers trade body, which told it that investment in the new facilities needed would be at risk if dismantlers felt too much at the mercy of manufacturers' decisions. Matthew Carrington, chief executive of the RMI welcomed the Select Committee's report, saying today, “We support their call for a well organised and funded local authority system for the collection and disposal of abandoned vehicles. ”Without a scheme with some substance, this situation could degenerate further, leaving retail motor sector businesses to bear the cost of disposal alone. At the fringes of the market, we are already seeing the abandonment of vehicles at service and repair workshops, bodyshops, and auctions. Vehicles that turn out to be too expensive to repair, or are not sold at auction, are never collected by their owners.”

The Environment Committee's report can be seen online at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmenvfru/103/10302.htm