Call to end dumping of tyres in countryside

OLD tyres dumped in the countryside are becoming a burning issue for human and animal health protection, says an MEP.

There is a growing tendency to set the tyres alight to dispose of them, resulting in toxic fumes from the burning rubber.

Mairéad McGuinness, Ireland East member of the European Parliament and a Fine Gael general election candidate in Louth, claimed these fumes are many times more dangerous than those from burning plastic.

She called for urgent action by the Department of the Environment to curb tyre dumping in ditches, fields and bogs.

“A system that encourages proper disposal and recycling of tyres is needed sooner rather than later,” she said.

Noting that the department is proposing a tracking system for tyres, she said it must act swiftly and clearly indicate where it sees the country’s 50,000 tonnes of tyres going.

“We are all paying a levy of 1 or 2 a tyre for recycling. It is not at all clear where this money is going,” she said.

Ms McGuinness said Ireland’s sole tyre recycling facility, Crumb Rubber in Louth, is only taking in some 15% of the end-of-life tyres in the country.

“We need to ask where the remaining 85% of tyres are going,” she said, urging farmers to be careful about taking tyres onto their farms above what is required for normal use on silage pits.

“Otherwise, farmers will ultimately be responsible for carrying the costs of eventual disposal,” she said.

Meanwhile, Environment Minister Dick Roche has informed Louth Sinn Féin TD Arthur Morgan in a written reply to a Dáil question that he has publicly stated his concerns regarding inappropriate practices in managing waste tyres.

“It is imperative that waste tyres are not subject to unauthorised burning, uncontrolled disposal or the formation of indiscriminate stockpiles.

“These practices are not acceptable as they can cause nuisance, pose both environmental and health hazards and infringe waste and other environmental legislation,” he said.

Mr Roche said his department has had discussions with the Irish Tyre Industry Association (ITIA) with a view to establishing a Producer Responsibility Initiative (PRI). These talks are continuing with the intention of concluding the necessary arrangements for such an initiative later this year.

Draft regulations which will provide a regulatory framework for this PRI are being developed and will be published for public consultation shortly, he said.