Minister of State issues PRI update in Dail

Minister of State,  Kevin Humphries addressed the Dail on Thursday, March 26, on the issue of the proposed full Producer Responsibility Initiative, which was raised by Robert Troy, T.D.

Minister Humphries read a statement from Minister Alan Kelly, who was absent from the Dail on business.

The statement read: "I am pleased today to give an update on the establishment of a producer responsibility initiative (PRI) for waste tyres. As part of the Review of the Producer Responsibility Initiative (PRI) my Department commissioned a major review of the waste tyre sector. This report was published in November 2013, and concluded that the current 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 a substantial proportion of waste tyres unaccounted for.  In addition, the Irish taxpayer is often paying twice for the treatment of waste tyres: firstly, through the application of an existing fee at the point of purchase, and then again to support local authority clean-up operations when waste tyres are dumped. The report also identified significant non-compliance among those with responsibilities under the current Waste Tyre Regulations.

To address these significant shortcomings, my Department has been working, in full consultation with all parts of the tyre industry, to assist it in putting in place a system of producer responsibility, in line with those that already apply to other sectors, to provide for the collection, sorting and management of the waste they produce in an environmentally sound manner. This is in line with the "polluter pays principle" which is a firmly established feature of both European and domestic waste policy and legislation.  The implementation of this new scheme will require an overhaul of existing structures, but I believe 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 in the sector.  Moreover, I believe that such a scheme could be provided for without introducing any new costs, but rather by effectively formalising the existing charge that is already applied to almost all tyre purchases.

Arising from the work of the Tyres Working Group my Department received proposals for the future management of waste tyres from the Independent Tyre Wholesalers and Retailers Association (ITWRA) and the Irish Tyre Industry Association (ITIA).  Having considered these proposals in detail I have now informed all sections of the tyre industry of my decision to establish a full Producer Responsibility Initiative scheme for waste tyres.

This PRI will comprise the following features:

A single compliance scheme for end-of-life tyres to be operated by Repak;

The ending of the option to "self-comply" under the Regulations;

Formalisation of the existing recycling charge into a visible environmental management charge to protect the consumer and put an end to the taxpayer having to pay "on the double";

The level of this charge will be set by my Department and reviewed in two years;

As part of the detailed design of the scheme, my Department is  considering - in consultation with the tyres and waste industry - 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;

The new regime including enforcement and compliance measures is to be underpinned by a robust legislative base, including fixed penalty notices for certain breaches.

Minister's Concluding Statement
The Tyres Working Group met on 2nd March last to begin the process of implementation of the Tyres PRI. All parts of the tyres industry - retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers, importers - are represented at the Group which also includes representatives from the National Transfrontier Shipment Office, the EPA, local authorities, and the Department of the Environment Northern Ireland where similar arrangements may ultimately be introduced. While the ITWRA chose not to attend the recent meeting, I hope they will attend future meetings of the Group and the various sub-groups and make their contribution to the important detailed design stage we have now reached.

The Tyres Working Group is conscious of the need to keep the wider sector informed of its work and on the changes which are planned. To address some misleading and inaccurate information which are significantly exaggerating the impacts of the proposed changes circulating within the sector, it is the intention of the Group to issue regular newsletters to the sector giving an update on the current position. The first newsletter was published on 11 March on  HYPERLINK "http://www.tyretrade.ie/"www.tyretrade.ieand circulated to approximately 2,500 subscribers to their e-newsletter. There will be on-going consultation with the sector and once the new draft Tyre Regulations are available, there will also be a further consultation with the sector.

Twenty of twenty eight Member States manage tyres through a system based on the principle of producer responsibility.  I intend to build on the learning and experience of these schemes. The tyre industry in Europe has been very successful in dealing with the problem of waste tyres and is currently achieving a recovery rate of 95%.  This should be our aim too as part of our overall transition to a more resource efficient, circular economy.

If you have any questions regarding this matter, or indeed, any other questions relating to the transition to a full Producer Responsibility Initiative, you may contact the Tyres Working Group in the following ways.

Phone: Lo-call 1890 20 20 21 Ext: 7346