Find a Car Recycler/ATF
No Tanks – Campaign to increase awareness of the need to dispose of gas tanks separately
ELVES have produced a series of images to promote the importance of separating gas tanks/bottles from other types of waste, particularly End-of-Life Vehicles, when they need to be recycled.
Gas bottles (such as those from BBQs or home cooking) are often left in the boots of old cars when they are taken to be recycled at an Authorised Treatment Facility. If these bottles are not spotted by a waste operator before the car is sent through a shredder, they can explode causing damage to equipment and noise pollution for the local area.
ELVES encourages the use of the images to promote this important message across your social media and other communications channels.
Suggested captions:
Don’t dispose of used gas bottles when scrapping your old car. Be sure to return them to the supplier instead. www.mywaste.ie
Or
Gas bottles can be dangerous if left in the boot of your old car and crushed when it is recycled. Find out what to do with your old gas bottles www.mywaste.ie
Or
Separate your waste – return old gas tanks to the supplier, don’t dispose of them in your scrap car. They can be dangerous if crushed in the boot of your car during the recycling process.
Tags to Use:
Please include the @ELVESIreland tag for Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
Background Information:
BBQ and home cooking gas cylinders pose a risk if hidden within vehicles or other equipment sent to metal recyclers. If not properly decommissioned before shredding, these tanks may explode during the shredding process, causing damage to equipment and noise pollution for those living near the processing plants. At one metal recycler alone, over 380 gas tanks were removed from waste received over the course of one year.
It is vitally important that gas cylinders are not sent to metal recyclers hidden within other types of waste. This makes it very difficult for staff at metal recyclers to spot these potentially dangerous items before they are put through a metal shredder.
Gas cylinders, such as those from BBQs or home cooking, should be returned to their supplier for proper recycling.
For LPG (Autogas) tanks in vehicles, these should be removed from an End-of-Life Vehicle as part of the depollution process at an Authorised Treatment Facility. The tanks can then be taken to a metal recycler for decommissioning and recycling. ELVES the compliance scheme for End-of-Life Vehicles has supported the provision of LPG tank decommissioning equipment at a number of metal recyclers around the country. It is important these tanks are decommissioned properly before shredding for recycling. For further information see www.elves.ie/Information-for-ATFs