P.E.I. gets gold star for auto recycling regulations

A new national group is lauding P.E.I. for being one of only three provinces to require hazardous materials in cars be disposed of properly before the vehicle is scrapped.

We saw wet fluids coming out of vehicles that should have been drained. Barry Jackson, P.E.I. Environment Dept.

The new End-of-Life Vehicle Sector Council was announced in Toronto Monday, a joint effort of auto makers and recyclers to better manage the more than a million vehicles that are retired annually in Canada.

P.E.I.'s Department of Environment put regulations in place in 2015, after inspections revealed some environmental concerns at a handful of the 50 licensed salvage yards in the province. Fluids must be drained properly and batteries and mercury switches recovered from scrapped vehicles.

"P.E.I. is one of the few that actually adopted it directly into the regulations," said Barry Jackson, the province's environmental and regulatory coordinator.

"P.E.I. is a relatively densely populated province, very concerned about soil and groundwater protection," he said, noting the proper removal of hazardous materials from vehicles can be time-consuming.

Don't call them 'junkyards'

Many auto shops on the Island are part of the Canadian Auto Recyclers, so were already meeting a high standard, but Jackson said the department needed to work with others.

The facilities are no longer called "junkyards," but "automotive salvage and recycling facilities," he noted.

"That was really important for the industry. They saw that as a disrespectful or demeaning term," he said.

The new sector council hopes other provinces will follow P.E.I., Ontario and B.C.'s lead and enact similar regulations.

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