"PUT THEM OUT OF BUSINESS" - LIZ LYNNE

12.08.07am GMT Sat 11th Aug 2007

West Midlands Euro-MP Liz Lynne has sent a fierce warning to hundreds of local car dismantlers: "I am going to put you out of business!"

Liz says that rogue operators are acting illegally and polluting the environment when they buy old cars from owners and warns the public they are breaking the law if they do not sell their old vehicles to one of 1200 Environment Agency-registered Approved Treatment Facilities (ATF) and obtain a Certificate of Destruction (CoD).

The End-of-Life Vehicles Directive, which became UK law in 2003, requires potential contaminants such as oil, brake fluid, tyres and airbags to be removed from cars before they are scrapped.

But many local illegal dismantlers are undercutting the ATF's by collecting cars and disposing of them illegally. With only around 900,000 Certificates of Destruction issued last year, latest figures suggest that as many as 1.1 million old cars are being unlawfully collected each year.

Many local newspapers carry classified advertisements offering the collection of scrap cars for cash. Many of these advertisers use a mobile number to avoid being traced by the authorities.

Liz commented: "If car owners are not issued with a CoD they cannot be sure the vehicle dismantler is registered, that their car will be dismantled safely, or that the environment will be protected. They can also be certain that the pollutants in their car will end up polluting the environment.

"If their car is in fact not scrapped but sold and driven on the road they could be liable for an £80 road tax fine after two weeks, with a further £1000 penalty if the car is driven untaxed. They would also have to pick up the tab for any parking or speeding fines incurred while someone else is driving the vehicle."

Liz feels it is time for a Government crackdown to put the dodgy dismantlers out of business:

"This law is good news for the environment but the entire scheme is undermined if these people can simply carry on letting oil and brake fluids wash down the nearest drain."

Meanwhile genuine ATF's are struggling to stay in business as their custom is being stolen by the illegal operators and they have had to make large investments to meet the strict new standards.

Andy Kenny from the End of Life Vehicle Recyclers Association claims if nothing is done many local ATFs will close:

"Many operators just aren't getting enough cars because they are being intercepted by the illegal operators. Genuine dismantlers face financial ruin if this situation is allowed to continue."