What is an Authorised Treatment Facility?

An Authorised Treatment Facility is a specialist site licensed by the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales or the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to process vehicles at the end of their lives. These facilities follow strict legal and environmental standards designed to protect people, property and the environment in the process of recycling cars.

Authorised Treatment Facilities are the only sites in the UK permitted to issue a Certificate of Destruction, which serves as proof that the vehicle has been permanently taken off the road and that the registered keeper is no longer responsible for it. If you recycle your car and don’t receive a Certificate of Destruction, there’s a possibility that you’ll still be legally regarded as the registered keeper, which can leave you liable for road tax, fines or problems if the car ends up back on the road.

What happens to your vehicle at an Authorised Treatment Facility?

Authorised Treatment Facilities use a comprehensive step-by-step process to ensure every vehicle is handled properly.

• Initial checks: the car is recorded, checked and logged for regulatory compliance.
• Depollution: all hazardous fluids and substances - such as fuel, oil, coolant, brake fluid and refrigerants - are carefully drained and disposed of in line with UK law. Tyres, batteries, airbags and other dangerous components are removed using specialist equipment.
• Dismantling: reusable components - such as engines, gearboxes, catalytic converters and panels - are removed for resale or reuse.
• Shredding and separation: the remaining car body is shredded and metals are separated using advanced machinery so they can be reprocessed for use in new products.
• Documentation: once the process is complete, the Authorised Treatment Facility then notifies the DVLA that your vehicle is permanently off the road and produces the Certificate of Destruction.

What happens to your vehicle at an Authorised Treatment Facility?

Authorised Treatment Facilities use a comprehensive step-by-step process to ensure every vehicle is handled properly.

• Initial checks: the car is recorded, checked and logged for regulatory compliance.
• Depollution: all hazardous fluids and substances - such as fuel, oil, coolant, brake fluid and refrigerants - are carefully drained and disposed of in line with UK law. Tyres, batteries, airbags and other dangerous components are removed using specialist equipment.
• Dismantling: reusable components - such as engines, gearboxes, catalytic converters and panels - are removed for resale or reuse.
• Shredding and separation: the remaining car body is shredded and metals are separated using advanced machinery so they can be reprocessed for use in new products.
• Documentation: once the process is complete, the Authorised Treatment Facility then notifies the DVLA that your vehicle is permanently off the road, and ultimately issues you with a Certificate of Destruction.

Why is it important to recycle your car with an Authorised Treatment Facility?

An Authorised Treatment Facility ensures that your car is efficiently and effectively recycled, in accordance with UK law. There are a variety of reasons why that’s important, but for you - as the car’s registered keeper - a lot of them come down to peace of mind that the paperwork will all be in order, avoiding potential problems. If it’s not handled correctly, the DVLA might still view the car as legally being on the road – even if it’s been recycled – which may result in you being liable for unpaid car tax.

There have also been documented cases of non-licensed scrapyards not recycling the car as they’re supposed to and, instead, giving it a cursory repair and selling it on. If the authorities spot your car in situations like these – especially if it’s been caught speeding or otherwise breaking the law – then it may well still be your name that it’s legally tied to. That can result in a whole lot of costs and legal hassle – all of which you can avoid by ensuring you’ve used an Authorised Treatment Facility.

This is why that Certificate of Destruction is so important – it’s an official legal acknowledgement that your name and identity is no longer associated with the car, so that you can rest assured that it’s been processed properly.

Other important requirements:

There are a number of legal obligations involved in taking a vehicle off the road permanently – not just for you, but for the facility as well – and you can be sure that an ATF will take care to meet these.

To briefly go into those:

Legal requirements

Under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013, all end-of-life car transactions must be carried out by a business that holds a valid ATF licence or End-of-Life Vehicle Permit, issued by the Environment Agency.

What’s more, payments cannot be made in cash – although it’s an undeniably catchy term, and so still very widely used. At EMR Vehicle Recycling we offer fast payment direct to your bank account as the most convenient way of getting your money.

These requirements exist to create a clear paper trail for every vehicle according to the Scrap Metal Dealers Act’s terms, which helps to prevent criminal activity - such as stolen cars being sold or vehicles being fraudulently returned to the road.

Environmental regulations

As well as the legal obligations, there are strict environmental standards for recycling cars in the UK, and Authorised Treatment Facilities are specifically licensed to meet them. These include removing and safely disposing of all fluids - such as fuel, oils and coolants - as well as dealing with components like batteries, tyres and airbags so they can be treated or recycled appropriately.

The reason this legislation exists is to protect the environment from pollutants that can contaminate soil, water or air, while ensuring that valuable resources are recovered instead of going to landfills. When you recycle your car at an ATF, you can be confident it’s being handled in a way that reduces its environmental impact and supports the circular economy by reintroducing recovered materials back into manufacturing.

Why choose our Authorised Treatment Facility network at EMR Vehicle Recycling?

With all our decades of experience here at EMR Vehicle Recycling, we’ve had plenty of time to build up a nationwide network of Authorised Treatment Facilities – so wherever you happen to be based in the UK, you can count on us to connect you with an ATF that’s never too far away.

Here’s a quick rundown of the top reasons to choose EMR Vehicle Recycling:

• Nationwide coverage — We operate one of the widest networks of licensed sites across the UK, so you can always find an Authorised Treatment Facility close to you. This reduces transport time and cost, making everything quicker and simpler.
• Decades of expertise — We bring over 70 years of experience in vehicle recycling, using our knowledge, resources and infrastructure to ensure that everything is as quick and easy as it can possibly be for you.
• Instant online quote – Enter your registration and postcode into our online tool to get a free, no obligation quote in seconds. It’s a great way to quickly find out exactly what your car is worth.
• Drop off or collection — Choose the option that works best for you. Deliver the vehicle directly to a local ATF or arrange a convenient collection from your home, workplace or another suitable location.
• Minimal paperwork — We like to handle as much of the paperwork as we can on your behalf. That includes notifying the DVLA, and sending you a Certificate of Destruction if you need a copy, giving you legal proof that your vehicle has been permanently scrapped and that your responsibility for it has ended.