In discussions prior to the adoption of the 2007 Tyre Regulations, it was made clear that this was the last opportunity for the tyre industry to embrace environmental compliance and take responsibility for the waste it produces. If the required improvement did not happen, it was made clear to the tyre industry that the system would be reviewed and replaced with a full Producer Responsibility Initiative (PRI) model. As part of a wider review of producer responsibility arrangements completed in 2014, the structural and environmental effectiveness of all aspects of the current system for managing waste tyres was assessed. The results of this examination were stark. The report, published for consultation in November 2013 and in final form in April 2014, found:
- A non-compliance rate with the Tyre Regulations of 46%,
- A lack of consistent and accurate data,
- That the current system was not tracking data flows well, and
- Between 25% and 50% of waste tyres were not accounted for with widespread illegal dumping .
Following extensive discussions with the tyre industry, I announced my decision to establish a full PRI scheme for Tyres and Waste Tyres in Ireland on 30 January 2015. Since my decision, significant progress has been made in discussions with the tyre industry.
The new scheme will be operated by Repak with a registration and reporting role for the WEEE Register Society. Both organisations have long and successful track records under existing producer responsibility arrangements in the packaging, battery and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) areas and have been instrumental in making Ireland a top EU performer in these waste streams.
Operators based in other jurisdictions but bringing tyres onto the Irish market or distance sellers will have exactly the same obligations as any operator based in Ireland so the suggestion that operators based outside the jurisdiction will have a competitive advantage over their Irish counterparts is unfounded. The distance seller approach has been very successfully used under existing arrangements for distance sellers of electrical and electronic equipment.
There will be no new tyre tax under the new system. Consumers already pay a disposal fee to their tyre retailer whenever they buy a new tyre. The model that I am proposing will formalise a charge that tyre retailers already apply but which does not currently go towards the cost of managing the waste in all cases, as it is supposed to. It is absolutely right and fair to provide a system that ensures it is properly directed in the future so that the consumer does not pay twice: once at the point of purchase and again when the taxpayer has to meet costs incurred by local authorities for the clean-up of illegally dumped tyres.
My Department is proceeding with the introduction of a full PRI scheme for tyres which mirrors those arrangements which are in place in 20 other Member States and which from the outset will, I am confident, enjoy the full support of all members of the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers Association who make up approximately 50% of the Irish tyre market. The tyre working group that I established last year continues to operate and will be tasked now with the detailed design of the scheme based around the overarching principles that have been announced. The scheme will respect the producer responsibility approach and be based on the polluter pays principle.
