15 August 2008
A sharp drop in the number of abandoned cars on the streets of England is due partly to soaring prices for scrap metal, say council leaders.
The Local Government Association published figures on August 13 showing that the number of abandoned vehicles reported to councils had fallen by 72% over the past four years.
In 2003, councils retrieved an average of 800 vehicles per day. Last year, the figure fell to just 225, and the fall has continued, the LGA said, with the problem being almost
non-existent in areas such as Blaby in Leicestershire (a 99% drop) and South Buckinghamshire (97%).
Lindsay Millington, director general of the British Metal Recycling Association, said: 'This is real concrete evidence that more and more end-of-life vehicles are being properly recycled.'
Scrap metal dealers confirmed that prices of steel, aluminium and copper have rocketed to meet demand from countries such as China and India for raw materials for manufacturing industries.
Council leaders admitted that the economic downturn had led to more people seeking to make money from their redundant cars, but pointed out that there were still more than 80,000 vehicles reported abandoned last year.
PFaug2008
