Tyre storage centres to dissuade Bahrain’s ‘saboteurs’

As regular tyrepress.com readers know, used tyres are often a point of discussion in the UK. They’re also a talking point in Bahrain, but the island nation’s issues with used tyres differ somewhat from ours. The Gulf Daily News reported on 5 December that storage centres are being set up across Bahrain; the purpose of these is to house used tyres in order, as the newspaper writes, to “stop saboteurs from burning them on the street and to protect the environment from fumes and smoke.”

The country’s parliament voted unanimously in favour of this project. Member Sameer Al Kadhim, who is said to be the driving force behind the proposal, said the centres would help keep used tyres out of the hands of saboteurs, who currently source them from outside garages or in scrap yards.

“The sites will be under the supervision of the Interior Ministry, which would make it difficult for saboteurs to steal,” the Gulf Daily News quoted Al Kadhim as saying. “They have terrorised the country enough and made people’s lives difficult.

“The joint committee could also contact other concerned ministries to determine the sites, co-ordinate with garages and scrap yards and come up with other measures to ease implementation,” he added.

Although the proposal was unanimously passed by Bahrain’s parliament, this hasn’t stopped some members from voicing concerns. One unnamed MP opined that collecting used tyres and storing them in a single location simply makes it easier for saboteurs to source the tyres they want. “Instead of searching for stock, they will burn those stacked in the site,” the member commented. “Otherwise, people will wake in the morning to find their cars standing on bricks and their tyres stolen.”