Tyres Working Group issues PRI update

The Tyres Working Group, which is charged with the implementation of a full Producer Responsibility Initiative (PRI) for tyres has issued the following statement to TyreTrade.ie.

The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government established a Tyres Working Group representing all aspects of the tyre sector to assist his Department in putting in place a new regulatory regime for the management of waste tyres in Ireland.

This Group is charged with the implementation of a full Producer Responsibility Initiative (PRI) for tyres in accordance with the Minister’s recent decision.

Arising from the work of the Tyres Working Group, the Minister has decided, after careful consideration, to establish a full PRI scheme comprising of the following features:

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

* The ending of the self-compliance option

* Formalisation of the existing recycling charge into a visible environmental
management charge which would be set by the Department and reviewed in two years.

* As part of the detailed design of the scheme, the Department is open to 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.

Next steps

The Tyres Working Group met on March 2, last to begin the process of implementation of the Tyres PRI. A key concern of the Group is to articulate, inform on and consider the concerns of the industry regarding these changes.

During the meeting, a number of such concerns were raised and discussed. These concerns included:

the cost of the scheme
the time period for its introduction and the transitional arrangements that will apply
the data that will be required to underpin the system and the registration and reporting mechanisms,
consultation and communication with industry.

Accordingly, in order to address these issues, the Group has decided to establish five sub-groups, which will comprise representatives of the Tyres Working Group.

The Department of the Environment will not be represented on any of these sub-groups.

These five sub-groups are, as follows:

* Distance sellers and treatment of information

* Registration and reporting

* Transitional arrangements,

* The financial model

* Enforcement.

The Department, in consultation with the Tyres Working Group, is currently developing terms of reference for each of these sub-groups.

Consultation

The Tyres Working Group is very conscious of the need to keep the entire sector informed of its work and on the changes which are planned. Accordingly, it is the intention of the Group to issue regular newsletters to the sector giving an update on the current position. Once the new draft Tyre Regulations are prepared, there will also be a further consultation with the sector.