Ireland Introduces new Tyre Recycling Regulations

As of January 2008 greater responsibility for waste tyres will be placed upon tyre manufacturers, suppliers, traders and retailers in the Republic of Ireland. This increased accountability comes courtesy of a new piece of legislation, the Waste Management (Tyres and Waste Tyres) Regulations 2007, signed by Ireland’s Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, John Gormley, on October 4.

Approximately 3 million tyres make their way onto Ireland’s roads each year and an estimated 35,000 tonnes of waste tyres are generated annually. “It is time that we had a proper database on this waste stream and I believe the new system that my Department has agreed with the tyre industry will effectively address that deficiency,” commented Mr. Gormley. “These new regulations will now provide a proper regulatory framework for comparing quantities of waste tyres arising with the amounts placed on the market and for tracking the movement of waste tyres from the time they are discarded until they are either reused or processed for recycling.”

The tyre industry, through the Irish Tyre Industry Association, will fund the establishment of what has been named the Tyre Recovery Activity Compliance Scheme (TRACS). The role of TRACS will be to audit the movement of tyres between the different parties involved. “The improved regulatory framework for waste tyre management will support the tyre industry’s tracking initiative which proposes not only to track the movement of tyres from when they are placed on the market until sold to end users, but more importantly to trace waste tyres from the time they are discarded until they are either reused or processed for recycling or reuse,” Gormley added.

The new regulations come into effect on January 1, 2008.