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About ELVES
What is ELVES?
ELV Environmental Services CLG
ELVES is the compliance scheme for End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) in Ireland. ELVES is a non-profit company set up by vehicle manufacturers to help deliver on their obligations under the European Union (End-of Life Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations 2016.
ELVES mission is to improve the processing of scrap cars and small vans to help Ireland meet the 85% reuse and recycling and 95% reuse, recycling and recovery rates for End-of-Life Vehicles.
ELVES received approval to operate as the compliance scheme for the vehicle sector from the Minister for Climate Action, Communications and Environment from the 1 January 2017.
Did You Know ?
- Scrap cars and vans are also called End-of-Life Vehicles – ELVs for short
- In 2021, Ireland recycled, reused or recovered 95.7% of its End-of-Life Vehicles
- The targets from 2015 onwards are to recycle, reuse or recover 95% of End-of-Life Vehicles
What ELVES does:
ELVES Network of Recycling Facilities
The ELVES Network of recycling facilities consists of over 60 Authorised Treatment Facilities (ATFs) all around the country. These permitted scrapyards will take back your old car or small van for free (you may even receive money for it), will issue you with a Certificate of Destruction, ending your responsibility and will then recycle your vehicle. Over 75% of Certificates of Destruction issued in Ireland are done so though ATFs in the ELVES Network.
ELVES record and validate the Network’s reuse, recycling and recovery data. ELVES also works with metal recyclers, further downstream, to ensure the reuse and recovery rates for ELVs accepted by our Network are met. The ELVES ATF Network has met the 85 and 95% reuse, recycling and recovery targets every year since our approval on 1 January 2017.
ELVES’ work to improve recycling rates, significantly contributes to the improving national reuse, recycling and recovery rates as reported by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Public Education and Awareness
A key part of the activities undertaken by ELVES is raising awareness about how to scrap a vehicle correctly, as well as where they can be taken to ensure they are properly recycled. ELVES do this in a variety of ways including advertising, promotion at events, social media and competitions.
Hughie our Heinkel, built in Dundalk in 1961, is our mascot car and is always a great hit at events. Meeting Hughie is a great way to get people talking about car recycling.
You can follow ELVES on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube: @ELVESIreland
Projects to Improve Car Recycling
ELVES also deliver specific projects to improve car recycling in Ireland. To date this has included a Shredder Trial to help inform the calculation of reuse and recovery targets in addition to working with the Department of Transport to improve ELV Online, the electronic Certificate of Destruction system. Since 2018 ELVES has operated the Electric ELVES programme to support ATFs in their handling and recycling of electric and hybrid vehicles.
Find out more about the Electric ELVES Programme
Watch Video on the Electric ELVES training
Download the Shredder Trial Report
‘Recycling and Recovery of End-of-Life Vehicles in Ireland’
Increasing Our Producer Membership and Our Impact
ELVES is funded by its Producer members; professional importers of new and used vehicles. The more members that ELVES has, the greater the impact that it can have on the recycling of End-of-Life Vehicles in Ireland.
Find Out More About Our Achievements in Our Annual Reports:
ELVES – A Carbon Neutral Organisation
In 2022 ELVES achieved Carbon Neutral certification for its activities going back to 2019. Working with Carbon Footprint Ltd ELVES assessed its carbon footprint and offset not only the equivalent amount of its carbon emissions but an additional 25% to achieve the internationally recognised standard – Carbon Neutral Plus.
Offsetting was achieved through contributions made to QAS approved, Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) renewable energy projects in developing countries.
In addition, and in recognition of the need to take action locally as well as globally, ELVES also directly funds afforestation of native species woodland here in Ireland through Wolfgang Reforest. Native tree planting helps tackle climate change by reducing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere while creating habitat for biodiversity.
Of course, offsetting alone will not solve the climate crisis and ELVES takes proactive steps to reduce their carbon footprint. Recent examples include upgrading in-office lighting to LED and 50% of our vehicle fleet is now fully electric.
Read our full press release here.
