TIA supports free market tyre recovery over producer responsibility

The Tire Industry Association (TIA) has issued a position statement on scrap tyre recovery, in which the association comes out in support of free market approaches over and above producer responsibility schemes.

The statement, which was developed by the association’s Environmental Advisory Council (EAC), says “the association promotes and supports a competitive, market-based system to manage the flow of scrap tyres and scrap tyre materials” and points to the success already achieved with this approach – notably a purported tyre recovery rate approaching 90 per cent.

The statement is released in the midst of a political climate moving in favour of producer responsibility in some US states. Indeed, a number of news laws have been written to this effect during the last year or so. Many of these “Extended Producer Responsibility” (EPR) or Product Stewardship bills – says TIA – are drafted in a way that would restrict or interfere with the free flow of scrap tyres to selected markets.

The TIA’s view is that “establishing an extended producer responsibility system in the United States would create an additional level of management or oversight, would add costs without any significant benefit, would remove the retailer from direct negotiations with their suppliers and would replace an efficient well established free market-based system for managing scrap tyres with an unproven system.”

On the other hand, “TIA supports a competitive free market system that does not interfere with the free flow of scrap tire recyclable materials,” said TIA executive vice president Roy Littlefield.

In addition to the position statement, TIA has submitted comments to the Environment Committee in the State of Connecticut regarding S.B. No. 869 which would establish a tyre stewardship programme in the state. TIA is opposed to the bill.