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The European Commission is designing a new legislative framework to take a longer-term perspective in setting clear environmental objectives to around 2020. The following specific legislative decisions have an impact on the management of end of life tyres.

The European Commission is designing a new legislative framework to take a longer-term perspective in setting clear environmental objectives to around 2020. The following specific legislative decisions have an impact on the management of end of life tyres.

The EC Thematic strategy on prevention and recycling of waste (COM(2005)666 final) of 21 December 2005 provides an holistic analysis of the major achievements in the waste management area for the past 30 years. It stresses a need to further developing approaches for the determination of best environmental options and for the setting of targets for recycling and recovery of waste, taking into account the differences between products and materials and the possible alternative. The Commission also encourages the principle of producer responsibility- strategy proactively applied by the tyre manufacturers since late 90’s in anticipation of EU regulatory requirements.

The European Commission proposal for a Directive on waste (COM(2005)667 of December 2005 aims to optimise the provisions of the Directive 75/442/EEC on waste by clarifying definitions, introducing an environmental objective and adopting a more standards based approach. The European tyre manufacturers have been active over the years to make the intrinsic qualities of end of life tyres recognised to obtain eventually end of waste status for their derived products, should there be a first non-exhaustive list of waste streams to be tested to qualify for end of waste status.

The Directive on the Landfill of waste (1999/31/EC) of April 1999 lays down a ban of whole tyres by 16 July 2003 and of shredded tyres by 16 July 2006. Exemptions were obtained by ETRMA for the use of whole tyres for engineering purposes, bicycle tyres and tyres above 1400 mm diameter.
Industry efforts to assist Member States to reaching these targets continue being intense.

The Directive on End of Life Vehicles (2000/53/EC) although making little reference to tyres, has a significant impact on the Sector. The Directive lays down measures aiming at preventing vehicles waste and promoting reuse, recycling, and other forms of recovery of end of life vehicles and their components. To this end, it sets recycling and recovery targets to be achieved by 2015 and which are destined also to tyres. In addition, the Directive mentions that standards should be further developed to determine the reusability, recoverability and recyclability of new vehicles. This work was carried out and the European Commission published in February 2003 the Decision (2003/138/EC) establishing component and material coding standards with provisions for rubber products including tyres echoing ETRMA requests.

The Directive on Incineration of waste (2000/76/EC) of December 2000 fixes emissions limits for all new cement kilns from end-2002.
From December 2008, new provisions apply to cement kilns co-incinerating waste including end of life tyres. The cement kilns currently burning ELT in Europe are already complying with this Directive.

In the EC Decision on EU list of wastes (2001/118), end of life tyres are classified under entry 16.01.03. This text applies from 1st January 2002 in EU Member States.

Update 25 August 2008