Rotterdam car owners must be able to use the scrapping premium to make their own car more environmentally friendly. The Algemeen Dagblad reports that a majority of the city council in the port city is very much in favor of this, all the more so because the idea is that demolishing a car is not sustainable at all. The strongly criticized D'66 alderman for traffic - Pex Langenberg - has promised to investigate this idea.
Currently, motorists with a gasoline car older than 1992 or a diesel older than 2002 are eligible for a subsidy when the car is offered to a dismantling company. The owners receive a contribution between the 1.000 and 2.500 euros for this. In the meantime, more than 5.000 Rotterdammers have their four-wheelers dismantled. 10.000 cars are still driving around in Rotterdam that do not meet the requirements of the environmental zone. The scrapping premium is available until June next year, unless the budget of almost 15 million euros has been spent earlier.
Subsidy for catalyst or installation of a new engine
A majority of the council now wants the municipality to pay for modifications to older cars, making them more environmentally friendly. For example, there must be a subsidy for a catalytic converter or the installation of a newer engine. "It is strange that money is made available for demolishing a car, but not for making it sustainable," said CU / SGP committee member Mark de Boer. "Because it is of course much more sustainable to make existing cars more sustainable." The PvdA also wants the demolition premium from the municipality to be used for adaptations to old vehicles. Councilor Barbara Kathmann. stresses that demolition is not necessarily good for the environment. “Cars are being scrapped that are more fuel-efficient and cleaner than newer cars that are allowed to enter the zone. That is crooked. ”The Rotterdam Classic Classic Foundation prefers sustainability over demolition, partly because in the latter case there are also materials that end up in the environment.
Do sustainable adjustments have an effect?
The question is whether the adjustments to the "sustainable cars" have an effect. The environmental zones established in different cities appear to have little or no influence on air quality. Certainly in a city with heavy industry, such adjustments will hardly have any effect. The placement of a catalyst also does not solve the problem in advance, because catalysts emit particles of ammonia, which in the air again easily connect with nitrogen or sulfur dioxide. The reactions that result can cause fine dust. When owners choose to replace engines, old power sources will have to be disposed of. Even then, materials and substances end up in the environment. And the question is whether those who are eligible for a broadened scrapping premium scheme actually take the trouble to make it more sustainable. Because when a car has not yet reached the classic status, the willingness to adjust the vehicle is not expected to be too great. As noble as the ambition of the majority of the Council in Rotterdam is: The desired expansion of the much earlier reserved demolition premium goals is mainly in the sphere of change to maintain the environmental zone.
Source: Algemeen Dagblad
Edited: Auto Motor Klassiek/ Erik van Putten