The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Denis Naughton has said that a new recycling charge will not apply to agricultural tyres.
“We are introducing a free scheme for agricultural tyres because we do not have a handle on those figures,” he said in Dail Eireann last week.
Responding to a Parliamentary Question from Michael Healy-Rae, he said tyres are a major issue for anyone travelling around the country.
“There are mountains of tyres in Ireland. The current system is not working. Between 25% and 50% of the tyres that are put on cars in this country are unaccounted for.
The tyre regulations have a non-compliance rate of 46%. The current system is broken.
“Consumers are already paying somewhere between €1.75 and €3.50 for every tyre to be recycled, yet that is not happening,” he said.
To resolve this issue, the Minister plans to introduce new regulations, which will see the introduction of the visible Environmental Management Charge (vEMC), when purchasing tyres.
“We are introducing a clear and transparent system. The charge will be approximately €2.80 for car tyres,” he said.
“We are determined to ensure that all of the tyres that are taken off cars in this country are fully recycled,” the Minister concluded.
Farmers Can Still Use Tyres on Silage Pits
The Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment previously confirmed to Agriland that farmers will still be able to use tyres on their silage pits.
In a statement, the Department said that the Minister will not be amending the section of the Waste Management Regulations 2007 as regards to farmer’s obligations in relation to tyres.
Farmers will still be entitled to store and use waste tyres for the purposes of anchoring silage covers, subject to their being registered with a local authority and ensuring the environmentally sound management of such tyres, it said.