Introduction of the Tyre Waste EPR Rules in India
On July 21, 2022, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEF&CC) amended the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016, to include the management of waste tyres as per Schedule IX. These are now known as the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Amendment Rules, 2022. Download a copy of the rules today!
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) initially launched an interim portal for the registration of Producers, Retreaders, and Recyclers. CPCB rigorously scrutinized and verified all records and facilities to ensure compliance with government regulations and SOPs. The final version of the Tyre Waste EPR Portal is now available at Tyre Waste EPR Portal: https://www.eprtyrescpcb.in/.
Obligated parties have started exchanging EPR credits via this portal to meet their EPR obligations for FY 2022-2023 and FY 2023-2024. MOEF&CC requires all parties to comply with the regulations and submit their annual returns for FY 2023-2024 by June 30, 2024. Click here to download the Office Memorandum dtd 17.05.2024.
Scenario of Tyre Waste Management Before EPR
A 2022 survey by Allied Waste Solutions Private Limited across 30+ cities revealed that most tyre waste in India is managed by the informal sector, and the takeaway is as cited below:
“Majority of the tyre wastes generated within the geographies of India, are handled by the informal sector. The informal network aggregates, cut down tyres and supply to various industries, largely within their network. It is understood that nothing in this sector trickles down as unused/waste. Moreover, there are minimal possibilities of informal landfilling of tyre waste within the country. Large volumes of waste tyres are traded off to informal pyrolysis and crumb manufacturers. Since there are multiple players in the reverse value chain, margins & handling expenses add to the sourcing cost of tyres in India.”
Industry Response to the EPR Rules
The industry broadly supports EPR as crucial for formalizing the recycling and retreading ecosystem and ensuring the safe management of hazardous tyre waste. With the activation of the Tyre Waste EPR credit exchange portal, tyre producers must purchase EPR credits for past fiscal years, impacting profitability and margins in FY 2024-25. Learn more about this story.
At the same breadth, imposition of EPR rules on the Tyre industry is welcomed by all and sundry, for the following reasons:
- Boosts Recycling: Recyclers are now more inclined to invest in formal tyre waste recycling projects. Informal recyclers are motivated to obtain necessary authorizations, promoting their integration into the formal framework. In parallel, the informal recyclers are motivated to get necessary authorizations from the regulators (State Pollution Control Board / Pollution Control Committees / Central Pollution Control Board). Thus, EPR has already been a driver for integration of the informal sector within the formal framework.
- Digitization of Waste Recycling Data: The government has introduced mechanisms for traceability and EPR credit exchange through the designated portal, enhancing oversight of formal recyclers in India. This also enables the Government and the Industry take stock of the recyclers operating in India formally to collect, channelize and recycle tyre waste in the country.
- Control on Waste Tyre Imports: Importers must have EPR registration and bear the EPR costs for equivalent volumes, regulating the import and processing of waste tyres. Going forward, no imports are allowed without EPR registration. Further any such entities that import tyre waste, is also liable to bear the EPR costs for equivalent volumes.
- Incentives for Informal Sector/Waste Pickers: EPR rules have increased the purchase of waste tyres. Informal waste aggregators now sell tyre scrap directly to authorized recyclers, passing EPR incentives to waste pickers and aggregators. Furthermore, the informal waste clusters cannot legally operate informal tyre waste dismantling centres/ informal recycling set-ups, as there are hefty penalties (Environment compensation) for non-compliances. Nowadays, many such informal waste aggregators / informal waste clusters are inclined to sell their tyre scrap directly to the approved/authorized recyclers. Consequently, EPR incentives are being directly passed to these waste pickers / waste aggregators by the Recyclers.
CPCB has directed tyre makers to purchase EPR credits. Read more about this story
Leading tyre producers like Michelin, MRF, Bridgestone, and Continental have verified the recycling operations of Allied Waste Solutions in Uttar Pradesh and allocated EPR targets to authorized recyclers. Lakhs of tonnes of EPR credits have already been purchased from these recyclers. Read more about this story.
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