New Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme coming soon

The Tyre Trade Journal and TyreTrade.ie learned this week that the current Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Scheme in Ireland will be announced in the near future. The extension to include all categories of tyres is expected soon in an announcement by the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Darragh O’Brien.

We asked the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment to confirm this and a spokesman told us that the Minister is “currently considering the implications of an extension of the scheme on stakeholders and is working to ensure that any such an extension is underpinned by fairness and appropriate cost allocation”.

At the moment, the EPR scheme manages tyres for passenger cars, 4x4s, van and motorcycle tyres to find sustainable solutions for managing waste tyres.

The spokesperson noted that the Department conducted a public consultation from 29th August to 24th October 2024, regarding the proposed extension of the EPR Scheme for tyres.

Its aim, we are told, was to “assist the Minister to determine whether the EPR Scheme for tyres should be extended to include all categories of tyres”.

Currently agricultural, truck/bus, construction and industrial tyres do not incur an environmental management cost (EMC) and the compliance scheme is not responsible for arranging the end-of-life management of these tyres.

The Response in full to our enquiry from a spokesperson for the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment:

The Waste Management (Tyres and Waste Tyres) Regulations 2017 were introduced to ensure environmentally sound management of tyres placed on the Irish market throughout their lifecycle. At that time, tyres within the agricultural, bus and truck, construction and industrial categories were granted a temporary derogation from the environmental management cost (EMC) prescribed to facilitate the scheme’s establishment.

The Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy 2020-2025, however, committed to including these categories of tyre in the future to ensure best environmental management and the fair distribution of costs across the sector. In reality, many end-of-life tyres currently not included in the scheme are either not recycled at all and deteriorate in the environment or they find their way into the scheme, meaning the cost of recycling is being borne by those paying the environmental management cost for tyres in the passenger, 4x4s, van and motorcycle categories.

The Department conducted a public consultation regarding the proposed extension of the EPR Scheme for tyres which commenced on 29 August 2024 and concluded on 24 October 2024 to assist the Minister to determine whether the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Scheme for tyres should be extended to include all categories of tyres.  The outcome of this consultation can be accessed via the gov.ie website (https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-climate-energy-and-the-environment/consultations/consultation-on-extension-of-extended-producer-responsibility-scheme-for-tyres-under-the-waste-management-tyres-and-waste-tyres-regulations-2017/).

The Minister is currently considering the implications of an extension of the scheme on stakeholders and is working to ensure that any such extension is underpinned by fairness and appropriate cost allocation.