New depot to recycle waste tyres
MIDRAND - A new waste tyre collection depot in Midrand is in operation as part of a national plan to manage the collection and recycling of tyres.
The depot has already seen more than 1 000 tonnes of waste tyres pass through it after being removed from the South African environment and before being recycled.
This plan is part of the waste tyre project of non-profit organisation, Recycling Economic Development Initiative in South Africa (Redisa) which was gazetted in 2012 and has been implemented for just under a year. The Midrand depot has been open for about three months.
The plan is nation-wide, with Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal in focus, as it is Redisa’s impression that 60 million waste tyres lie in stockpiles, which are illegal and unsafe. Every year 11 million waste tyres are added to the pile.
Redisa aims to promote the recycling of tyres through providing the infrastructure for collecting waste tyres and delivering them to approved recyclers.
Executive director for Redisa, Stacey Davidson explained the plan had already taken off in Midrand, with both registered and informal tyre dealers using the depot.
She said the project did not only deal with existing tyres but also created a sustainable plan to manage future tyres and enabled people to become more knowledgeable about re-using, recycling and reducing waste.
She was also passionate about the socio-economic benefits of the project, as along with removing the environmental problems that the tyres cause, the waste tyres would now be commodities and would generate jobs and small business opportunities as tyres could be re-treaded, or the rubber and steel of tyres could be recycled into other forms.
The plan is funded through a waste management fee. Therefore, on every kilogram of tyre rubber which is produced, a portion of that money goes towards the recycling of the tyre.
Davidson said it was important that consumers paid for and took account of the disposal of their tyres, and incentives were big for those companies that reduced their own waste. It would also make citizens more responsible, she said.
Both formal and informal traders can use the depot.
Details: www.redisa.org.za
