Waste tyre recycling organisation the Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (Redisa) has written to members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, calling for urgent action on a new waste tyre management plan to help avert an environmental and health crisis.

It made this call following receipt of an increasing number of reports of illegal waste tyres being dumped and burned across South Africa.

Redisa has received complaints of illegal tyre burning outside of Gqeberha, in the Eastern Cape, as well as near communities like Freedom Park, in Soweto. Tyre dumping also often happens along Baden Powell road, in Cape Town, it says.

Tyre pollution also has wider environmental implications, illustrated by tyres clogging a riverbed along Philadelphia road, near Malmesbury, it adds.

The equivalent of about 70 000 passenger vehicle waste tyres are generated every day in South Africa. Areas in and around informal settlements and neighbourhoods on the urban fringes have become filled with toxic waste tyres, says Redisa executive committee member Dr Chris Crozier.

“Collectors cannot move them, as they have not been employed by the Waste Management Bureau, which falls under the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. Many collectors say they have not worked this year. Overfull waste tyre depots are a major cause of the problem,” he says.

A transporter who was part of a family business built under the Redisa model reported to it that trucks are being turned away at the depots, that there are secret dumping sites and that tyres are also being dumped in sports fields.

Apart from the severe toxic pollution caused by these practices, the reports are proof of how waste tyres are mismanaged in South Africa. The absence of oversight and management of waste tyres means unregulated operators are undermining environmental compliance and public health, he notes.

Toxins from waste tyres leach into groundwater, contaminating it, while the burning of tyres releases toxic pollutants that are linked to cancer, respiratory illnesses and birth defects.

Certain types of waste tyres are also burned to access scrap metal, while some communities are burning waste tyres for warmth during winter, which has severe health consequences, he highlights.

Further, the levy on tyre producers is still collected by the government for the management of waste tyres, yet now it delivers limited impact, partly owing to more than half of the money collected being used for purposes other than waste tyre management, he notes.

Redisa ran a nationally integrated tyre management plan from 2013 to 2017 that was fully funded by the producer-paid levy. It collected and diverted more than 306 000 t of waste tyres, created 3 000 jobs, and offset 59 000 t of CO₂ emissions throughout this period, he says.

In addition to posing environmental and health risks, waste tyre management is a missed opportunity for economic growth and job creation through recycling, he says.

Research has shown that, if there were a functional waste management plan in place for just 13 of South Africa’s 38 waste streams, GDP growth could rise by 1.5 percentage points, says Crozier.

“South Africa urgently needs a new industry plan that will end the damage, while creating new economic opportunities through a circular economy,” says Redisa CEO Hermann Erdmann.

Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Dr Dion George withdrew the current Industry Waste Tyre Management Programme plan in June, citing concerns about the plan's alignment with sector realities and policy intent as reasons for the withdrawal.