Report on Vehicle Battery Management ARN Advisory submits first report to Environment Ministry (VROM). In compliance with the combined notification for Vehicle Battery Management (Bbb), ARN Advisory submitted its first report for 2009 on 30 July 2010 to the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment. The combined notification not only applies to importers of passenger cars, but also to wholesale traders and importers of motorised two-wheelers, lorries and special vehicles. The 67 participants brought a total of more than 1 million car batteries onto the market, representing a volume of 15,000 tonnes.

Market for used oil is opened up ARN Recycling Services reduces its prices. ARN Recycling Services is lowering its prices for the removal of used oil for the second time this year. The latest reduction takes effect on 1 September 2010. The first price cut was introduced on 1 February after ARN Recycling Services teamed up with a new used oil collector. ARN Recycling Services is able to make this second cut thanks to a change in legislation which has opened up the oil collection market. Formerly only a limited number of companies were allowed to collect used oil, but under the new legislation other parties are now also able to obtain a license for providing this service. This has led to increased competition in the market, enabling ARN Recycling Services to reduce its prices for the collection of used oil.

Facts and figures   137,642 car wrecks deregistered for scrappage in first half of 2010. This is an increase of 18% compared to the total number of car wrecks scrapped in the first half of 2009 (116,595 car wrecks). The rise is a consequence of the National Scrappage Scheme which was available until 21 April 2010. The scrappage scheme accelerated the rate at which vehicles were taken off the roads. Within the ARN system 119,802 car wrecks were dismantled in the first half of 2010, representing an increase of 2.8% compared to the first half of 2009. In the first half of 2010 117,127 second-hand vehicles were exported from the Netherlands, 5% more than in the first half of 2009.

ARN Advisory organises special theme session during Ecomobiel The subject of the session is: 'Electric mobility does not solve the problem of our dependence on raw materials.' Consultant Hector Timmers discusses the pros and cons of switching over to electric transport. Timmers: "At present the focus is entirely on the user phase, but thanks to the arrival of sustainable energy, the huge emissions of today will soon be a thing of the past. Sustainable energy calls for sustainable technology and to achieve that technology we must have access to rare materials." Engines and batteries are essential elements in our present-day vehicle technology. To produce these batteries, we need rare earth elements (REEs) which are only found in a few places in the world. 97% of the REEs currently come from China, which recently imposed export restrictions on several of these REEs. The consequence is that Western countries are becoming largely dependent on China for sustainable technology – a phenomenon that is still receiving too little attention. Time for ARN Advisory to do something about it. To participate in the special theme session or obtain more information about Ecomobiel, please go to www.ecomobiel.nl