U-Turn a Must for One-Way Used Tyres

Wednesday, 07 May 2003 10:00

Total Environment Centre (TEC) today called for strict regulations to divert 5.4 million used tyres from NSW landfills every year. Government assistance to jump-start the market for products made from recycled tyres, however, is also needed to make the industry economically sustainable.

"The spectacular failure of past voluntary schemes for used tyres makes it clear that regulatory controls and market assistance are now long overdue," said Jeff Angel, TEC Director. "Dumping used tyres is not only a pollution problem but a waste of valuable resources. By banning tyres from landfill and supporting the emerging rubber reprocessing industry, we can both reduce waste and create market opportunities."

Used tyres can have adverse environmental impacts and threaten human health and safety. Chemicals leaching from tyres pollute groundwater, while burning them creates air pollution. Proposals to use tyres to fire power stations for electricity have been discredited as a waste of resources, utilising only 5% of the value that could be gained from recycling them into new products.

"Under new State legislation, tyre producers could be obliged to take responsibility for what has been identified as a 'waste of concern' by the NSW Environment Protection Agency. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes place the onus on the producer to deal with their products in an environmentally friendly way. Recycling rates for scrap tyres in Taiwan increased from 51% in 1991 to 105.64% by 1995 after EPR was introduced," Mr Angel said.

"Economically and environmentally, dumping millions of waste tyres just doesn't make sense. It's time for industry and government to act."