Department of Environmental Affairs
The national plan for waste tyre management will be funded by way of a R2.30 per kilogram levy on new tyres.
The levy will be imposed at source on new tyre manufacturers and importers, and will become effective on 1 February 2012.
This is according to water and environmental affairs minister Edna Molewa, who recently briefed media representatives on the plan. It will be implemented by the recycling and economic development initiative of South Africa (REDISA), a section 21 company.
During the media briefing, both the minister and her head of pollution and waste management directorate, Nolwazi Cobbinah, repeatedly emphasised the importance of REDISA’s independence and public accountability.
“It is vital to ensure that the process of managing waste or any other environmental problem is not subordinated to narrow industry interests,” the media statement noted. “Furthermore, the implementation of the REDISA plan must maintain confidentiality (in respect) of market sensitive data and ensure that no competitive advantage is given to any one industry player.”
Cobbinah said that waste tyres collected by REDISA would be used primarily in energy-recovery schemes to fire cement manufacturing kilns and “other processing plants”. Most importantly, the REDISA management process would “deal with legacy stockpiles” of used tyres across the country.
She added that it would eventually be illegal to dump used tyres in landfill sites, alluding to a five-year timeline in this regard.
According to Cobbinah, while the plan as a whole is “a home-grown solution” to uniquely South African problems, the green technology entailed is already operating successfully elsewhere. A similar plan has been adopted by Hong Kong.
Developed under National Environmental Management Waste Act 59 of 2008 and in keeping with the requirements of waste tyre regulation 9, the plan was published in notice 983 of Government Gazette 34796 dated 28 November 2011.
Sabinet Cape Town Office
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