The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change on Wednesday shared the draft notification for regulations for the extended producer responsibility (EPR) for waste tyres that will, if finalised, be effective starting the new fiscal year.
As per data provided for an NGT case, India discards roughly 275,000 tyres each year but does not have comprehensive plan for them. Over and above it, about 3 million waste tyres are imported for recycling. The NGT had on September 19, 2019, in a case related to the absence of proper management of End-of-Life Tyres/Waste Tyres (ELTs), directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to come up with a comprehensive waste management plan for the waste tyres and their recycling.
The draft notification mentions the EPR obligation for 2022-23 as 35 per cent of the quantity of new tyres manufactured/imported in 2020-21, EPR obligation of 2023-24 will be 70 per cent of the quantity of new tyres manufactured/imported in 2021-22 and the EPR obligation of 2024-25 would be 100 per cent of the quantity of new tyres manufactured/imported in 2022-23.
After 2024-25 (Year Y), the EPR obligation will be 100 per cent of the quantity of new tyres manufactured/imported in the year (Y-2) and units established after April 1, 2022, the EPR obligation will start after two years (Y) and will be 100 per cent of the new tyres manufactured/imported in the year (Y-2).
The producers and the recyclers of waste tyres would be covered under the EPR obligations. Registration would be compulsory, which would mean no entity – producer or recycler of waste tyre – can carry out any business without registration, according to the draft notification. This is an important development as much of the tyre waste recycling or burning happens in the unorganised sector in an unscientific manner.