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The standards in this technical guidance have been grouped into sections. All sections apply to regulated facilities with an environmental permit to store and treat ELVs or components. The sections are:

• general management
• ELV pre-acceptance, acceptance, and tracking
• ELV storage, segregation, and handling
• ELV treatment
• emissions control
• waste minimisation, recovery, and disposal

Other generic technical guidance also applies to ELV facilities, including guidance on emissions, odour and noise.

You also need an approved fire prevention plan that meets the requirements of our fire prevention plan guidance.

The appropriate measures in this guidance apply to both new and existing facilities with a permit to store and treat ELVs.

For new facilities the appropriate measures must be in place before operations start.

For existing facilities, if the cost of complying with the appropriate measures is disproportionate to the environmental benefit, immediate compliance may not be reasonable.

Through permit reviews, the Environment Agency will assess the current operating techniques of existing facilities against the relevant appropriate measures.

Where an operator is not using appropriate measures, we will expect them to provide improvement plans and timetables for implementing the relevant appropriate measures. We will review these proposals and set formal timescales for making the improvements needed. We will do this by varying the environmental permit to include improvement conditions.

Improvements at existing facilities are likely to fall into one of the following 2 categories.

Standard good practice requirements

For example, these could be:

• updated management systems
• ELV water and energy efficiency measures
• measures to prevent fugitive or accidental emissions
• ELV acceptance and handling techniques
• monitoring and depollution equipment
• operational equipment
• fire prevention equipment

Where these improvements are relatively low cost, operators should implement them as soon as possible, and in any event within 12 months.

Larger, more capital-intensive improvements

For example, these could be:

• installing new drainage and surfacing
• a significant redesign of the facility layout, including the design and installation of new buildings

Operators should complete these improvements as soon as is practicable, and in any event within 3 years.

However, local environmental impacts may mean that you need to act more quickly than the timescales provided here. For example, if there are sensitive receptors or an air quality management area close by.