Industry boss calls for mandatory tyre recycling laws

The managing director of a major tyre company says tyre recycling regulations in Australia are falling behind – and the topic isn’t being spoken about enough.

As part of a forthcoming Expert Insights interview which you can read in full tomorrow, Continental Tyres Australia chief Mitch Golledge said tyre recycling is an increasing concern for the country – labelling many of the importers as “free riders”.

“We've currently got a voluntary system in terms of [there being] 16 members that belong to the Tyres Stewardship Australia association. Not all tyre manufacturers and importers contribute to that,” Mr Golledge told CarExpert.

“So we currently are able to fund R&D projects for the development of using recycled tyres back into the marketplace – but we have a government that won't mandate a mandatory system, and therefore I think recycling is going to become a bigger issue for the Australian marketplace for tyres.”

According to Mr Golledge, each member of Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) commits $1 for every tyre sold or brought into the country.

“Make recycling a mandatory requirement, or make a cost for every tyre importer into the Australian marketplace – to pay a fee for the recycling or making a closed-loop system for tyres," he said.

The TSA offers $250 for every tonne of crumb rubber – a product created from recycling used tyres, often used in road construction – to local councils in Australia, with up to 100 tonnes and $25,000 available per project.

“There are a lot of free riders that bring tyres in, don't contribute, don't involve themselves in recycling of the products that they're bringing into the country,” he explained.

“So it's almost, you know, they're in it for a quick buck, whereas the likes of the premium manufacturers and the other 16 that are in that group are invested in trying to develop a way of making sure that the waste product that we generate because we manufacture it gets recycled in some way, shape, or form.”

Alongside Continental, members of the association include Ascenso, Bearcat, Bridgestone, GetaGrip, Goodyear, Hankook, Kal Tire, Kumho, Michelin, Pirelli, Sailun, Toyo Tires, and Yokohama. Curiously, Porsche is the only automaker in the association.

According to the TSA, 87 per cent of used passenger, bus, and truck tyres are recovered in Australia, with 66 per cent of all used tyres going to an environmentally sound use.

Sadly, the rest go into landfill or are dumped in areas including national parks.

MORE: National parks are becoming a dumping ground for used car tyres