The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) has welcomed news that a new levy on truck tyres, due to come into force on January 1, has been postponed for three months.

Minister for Communication, Climate Action and Environment, Denis Naughten, has agreed to defer the introduction an environmental disposal levy on truck tyres until April to allow a for the establishment of a new working group, which will consider how to deal with truck tyres in a fair and cost effective manner.

During the discussions, the IRHA made it clear that the imposition of an €11 levy on each tyre was unjustified, that haulierscould not countenance paying this and that the Regulations as they stand do not allow for the fact that a truck tyre is reused multiple times through retreading before it can be considered waste.

The Waste Management (Tyres and Waste Tyres) Regulations 2017 are based on the polluter pays principle where a levy is added to the price of a tyre when purchase, which will then go towards the tyre’s disposal at the end of its life.

However, truck tyres are not dealt with in the same way as they are sent for retreading or remoulding and resold many times before they present as waste.

The Regulations came into effect on October 1. However, in response to representations made by the IRHA, the Minister had originally agreed to postpone the levy on truck tyres until the new year. This latest decision by the Minister postpones it further to April to give the working group time to put forward proposals.

IRHA President Verona Murphy welcomed the Minister’s decision and looks forward to consulting with the Department, Repak and the representatives from the tyre industry as part of a working group to be established following the Minister’s decision.

Ms Murphy said:“Truck tyres account for a tiny percentage of total tyres sold in the State and are fully recycled, through reuse within the State and then by exporting. However, the proposed charge is almost four times the charge for a car tyre when it is generally accepted that end of life car tyres retain little or no value and so form a considerable source of waste. The whole approach to truck tyres by the Department needs to be fully reconsidered and I welcome the Minister’s decision to allow time for a working group to come together and consider how this can be done in a fair and cost effective manner which does not see our members burdened with yet another significant additional cost.”

Irish Road Haulage Association

About the Author: John Loughran