Previous arrangements for producer responsibility in relation to waste tyres in Ireland involved two separate compliance schemes, with an option also for self-compliance. However, the Producer Responsibility Initiative (PRI) review published by my Department last year concluded that the system is not functioning as intended, with a lack of basic information, poor structure, poor environmental outcomes in the form of large stockpiles of waste tyres and somewhere between 24% - 50% of waste tyres unaccounted for. The report also identified significant non-compliance among those with responsibilities under the current Waste Tyre Regulations. To address these deficiencies, I recently announced a Producer Responsibility Scheme for tyres which will comprise the following main features:
-A single compliance scheme for end-of-life tyres to be operated by Repak,
-The ending of the option for producers to “self-comply” under the Regulations,
-Formalisation of the existing recycling charge into a visible environmental management charge,
-The level of this visible environmental charge would be set by my Department and reviewed in two years,
-As part of the detailed design of the scheme, consideration by my Department, in consultation with the tyres and waste industry, as to whether the funding model is predicated upon a front-loaded or back-loaded model,
-A full audit and registration and reporting component (‘black box’) with a role for the WEEE Register Society, and
-An underpinning of the new regime, including enforcement and compliance measures, by a robust legislative base, including fixed penalty notices for certain breaches.
After almost a year of discussions with representatives of all sectors of the tyre industry in Ireland, I believe that my decision to introduce a full producer responsibility initiative in this waste stream is the appropriate response to the very serious problems which were identified in the sector by the PRI Review on Tyres and Waste Tyres. The problems identified require an overhaul of existing structures, but I consider that this can be achieved without distorting the tyres market in Ireland, without encouraging customers to buy tyres outside of the jurisdiction and without widespread job losses. Furthermore, moving to a single producer responsibility scheme for tyres should not increase the cost of disposal of used tyres, nor should it lead to an increase in the level of illegal dumping of tyres. Indeed, under the new arrangements, I expect to see a reduction in the current level of illegal dumping and in the costs borne by local authorities for the remediation of stockpiles of illegally dumped tyres.
My Department is continuing to work with the tyre sector to agree on the precise details of how the Tyres PRI will work. In order to bring additional focus to this work and the concerns which industry have raised, the Tyres Working Group, the industry stakeholder group working with my Department, recently decided to establish five sub-groups to examine and develop an approach and solutions on certain key issues. These five sub-groups are as follows;
-distance sellers and treatment of information,
-registration and reporting of producers,
-transitional arrangements,
-the financial model, and
-enforcement.
These sub-groups held their first meeting earlier this month and a number of further meetings have been arranged during April. The sub-groups will submit proposals for consideration by the main Tyres Working Group at its next meeting in May. It is the intention of the Tyres Working Group to keep the wider tyre sector informed of both the progress and decisions made on an on-going basis.
