Authorised Treatment Facilities, explained

Why there are special rules

A car at the end of its life is full of things that should not end up in soil or drains: engine oil, fuel, brake fluid, coolant, refrigerant gas, a lead-acid battery and airbag charges. Treated properly, most of the car can be reused or recycled. Treated badly, it is a pollution risk.

The End-of-Life Vehicles Regulations set out how cars must be handled, and the authorisation system makes sure the sites doing the work are equipped and inspected for it.

Who issues the permits

ATFs operate under an environmental permit from the regulator for their part of Great Britain:

• the Environment Agency in England
• Natural Resources Wales in Wales
• the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in Scotland

What an ATF does with your car

Once an ATF has a car, it can either destroy it completely or repair it and sell it on. If it destroys the car, it issues a Certificate of Destruction within seven days. The usual order of work is depollution first, then removal of reusable parts, then shredding of the shell so the metals can be separated and recycled.

Finding or checking one

GOV.UK has a “Find a vehicle scrapyard” service that lists authorised sites by postcode. In England you can also check the Environment Agency’s public register of permits.

If you use a collection service, ask which facility the car will go to. A legitimate collector will name it without hesitation, and the Certificate of Destruction will carry its details.

Do you have to take the car yourself?

No. Most people never see the facility. Licensed collectors bring cars to ATFs, and the paperwork, including the certificate, follows. The legal requirement is about where the car is scrapped, not who drives it there.