Posted on 30 March 2016 by CarTakeBack

As a result of what's happening in the steel industry, scrap metal prices are the lowest they've been for several years. Anyone taking their car on its final journey to the local scrap yard will end up being paid less than half of what they would have received this time last year.

The last time scrap prices dropped this low, many scrap yards actually charged to accept old cars. This led to a rise in abandoned vehicles, creating not just a social problem but also putting the environment at risk. So could we be on the cusp of another abandoned vehicle epidemic?

This time around, legislation is in place which is intended to prevent vehicles from being abandoned in the first place. Anyone who disposes of an old car has to get a Certificate of Destruction. Without this, the registered keeper would have to continue to pay road tax or face a hefty fine from DVLA. The only place to get one of these certificates is at a scrap yard which holds an Authorised Treatment Facility permit.

The legislation is also great news for the environment as all of the hazardous materials such as fluids, tyres and batteries have to be removed from the car before strict targets dictate that a whopping 95% of it then has to be recycled.

Although the provision of this service puts further pressure on the prices paid for scrap cars, the car makers are held responsible. Anyone who delivers their car in to a car maker's approved scrap car recycling centre is guaranteed not to be charged. Alison Price from CarTakeBack.com commented "CarTakeBack has represented the car makers for over 10 years. We provide a network of scrap car recycling centres across the UK, which exceeds the Government's convenience and accessibility criteria."
 
Unfortunately, despite the best intentions of the legislation, an estimated 600,000, out of the 1.8 million vehicles that are scrapped each year, are currently slipping through the net. These vehicles never make it to an Authorised Treatment Facility and therefore do not receive a Certificate of Destruction. This has led people to question whether many of these vehicles will find their way to a car maker approved site when there's no money on offer.

It's not all bad news, even with today's low scrap prices across the UK, the vast majority of motorists can still get paid for their old car as Alison explains "Customers typing their registration and postcode into the CarTakeBack.com website will find out instantly how much their car is worth. Prices vary depending on where you live, what type of car you have and whether there are any re-usable parts to add to its scrap value. But you should expect around £35 for the average sized car as scrap, with free collection."

While only a brave person would attempt to predict what the scrap metal markets will do, there are signs of small increases in some areas of the country. But as this could simply be the result of local competition, there's every chance that prices could fall even further.

Take a look at the latest scrap car price update 

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