The TMA members consider the issue of recycling of used tyres to be one of the most important conditions for environmental conservation; the process of recycling involves the creation of the full cycle of their collection, transportation and processing. Used tyres are a strategically important product and a source of valuable raw materials: creation of an effective system of the environmentally safe recycling of tyres will not only reduce the current negative impact on the environment, but will also contribute to the economic growth of the country through more efficient use of secondary resources.
In many countries around the world, a special legislation on the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has been adopted in the area of waste management from the use of goods. The EPR is the term used to refer to the responsibility companies have to ensure the disposal of post-consumer products that these companies have sold, i.e. companies not only cover the cost to develop, produce and sell goods, they also bear additional costs for safely disposing of them after they have been used by consumers.
The EPR environmental policy approach was introduced in the Russian Federation in 2015 and applied to a wide range of products and their packaging including tyres. In 2023, amendments were made to the Federal Law 89-FZ of 24.06.1998 "On Production and Consumption Waste", which regulates the fulfillment of the EPR. The introduced changes established additional requirements for manufacturers and importers of goods subject to the EPR and waste recyclers.
It is primarily each company’s own responsibility to fulfill the EPR, i.e. to ensure the necessary amount of waste is collected and disposed of. Companies can recycle at their own facilities or enter into contracts with established waste management companies operating on the market which have been checked by the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources (Rosprirodnadzor) and included in a special register of recyclers based on the results of such inspection. The register of recyclers is public and available on the Internet. If a company does not wish to or is not able to ensure recycling on its own, it must pay an environmental fee to the state – a non-tax payment to the federal budget at a fixed rate.
The Russian Government sets targets for waste recycling that are determined as a percentage of the volume of new goods put into circulation by manufacturers and importers. Also, recycling targets are set depending on the level to which capacities for recycling certain types of waste have been developed, and they are raised on a regular basis. Thus, from 2016 to 2024, recycling targets for tyres have increased from 15% to 30%. At the end of 2023, the Russian Government approved an annual 10% increase in recycling targets for tyres: from 40% in 2025 to 80% in 2029.
Taking into account the changes to the legislation adopted in 2023, a number of parameters and procedures for the execution of the EPR are still being determined within the framework of elaborated bylaws and require clarification on the part of responsible ministries. These issues are in focus of the Association.
The TMA members outline the following key conditions for the effective development of tyre recycling systems in Russia:
- Promotion of the collection of used tyres from individuals: for a long moment, the main suppliers of used tyres for recycling companies were commercial organizations such as transportation companies, who deliver used tyres, usually from trucks, to recyclers in an organized fashion. Before the EPR introduction, collecting car tyres from individuals was virtually non-existent in Russia. With the EPR launch, it began actively developed by tyre recyclers, including with the support of tyre manufacturers and importers. The main centers that accumulate used tyres from citizens are tyre fitting centers and dealerships for selling tyres that provide tyre fitting services. It is important that the population demonstrates environmental responsibility and disposes of used tyres at organised tyre waste collection centres.
- Diversification of the ways of recycling used tyres: currently, most used tyres in Russia are disposed of by mechanical crushing where the output product is crumb rubber of different factions. Moreover, in accordance with the latest legislative changes, only this technology can be used by tyre manufacturers and importers in the execution of the EPR. Every year, companies will have to ensure the recycling of an increasing number of used tyres. At the same time, the crumb rubber market has a seasonal nature and objective limitations on demand. Foreign countries widely use thermal processing methods, for example in the cement industry, as well as pyrolysis technology.
- Promotion of the use of products made from recycled used tyres: taking into account the annual increase in the number of recycled tyres, it is important for the state to take specific measures in order to encourage the use of secondary resources in economic circulation. Certain steps have already been taken in this direction, including with the assistance of the Tyre Manufacturers Association: