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Parliament requested to urgently look into waste tyre mismanagement

Feb 05, 2025 Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (REDISA)


Parliament requested to urgently look into waste tyre mismanagement

 

Statement by the Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (REDISA)

The Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (REDISA) has written to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Forestry, Fisheries and Environment, requesting that the committee use their oversight powers to hold the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) to account for South Africa's exploding waste tyre crisis. 

 

In its letter to the Chairperson, REDISA warns that South Africa produces at least

253 000 tonnes of waste tyres per year. This enormous amount of waste is being mis-managed by the Waste Bureau under the DFFE. Apart from the public health threats caused by toxic waste tyre pollution, the mismanagement is also a lost opportunity for the South African economy, because, through a well-coordinated recycling process, economic development and job creation can be strengthened considerably.

 

An environmental levy of R2.30+VAT/kg is collected on every tyre sold, and in effect this cost is passed on to every South African who buys tyres. It should be a source of great concern that less than half of this levy finds its way to the Waste Bureau. "Given the scale of the waste tyre problem and the urgent need to generate jobs and

economic empowerment, South Africa has a unique opportunity before it - making an

economic asset of its waste," said Hermann Erdmann, CEO of REDISA. "Waste tyre management, when done correctly, can also be a model for greater recycling and job creation in all other waste streams," Erdmann continued.

 

Between 2012 and 2017 REDISA oversaw tyre waste management in SA and it diverted over 300 000 tons of tyres through a program that created thousands of jobs and empowered hundreds of small and medium enterprises. In 2017 the controversial Zuma-appointed Minister Edna Molewa removed REDISA through a process that the Supreme Court of Appeals found to be both unlawful and based on unfounded allegations. The fact that grievous misrepresentations of REDISA were made in front of the Portfolio Committee in October of 2017, makes it even more important that parliament commits to transparency and rigorous oversight.

 

"The Zuma government underhandedly sought to take control of a world-leading waste tyre program, so that the state could control everything from the levy to the tenders. In that, they succeeded, and it is still the case today," said Stacey Jansen, a Director at REDISA. "Oversight and transparency are urgently needed. Rational, clear plans are essential," Jansen emphasised.

 

Cabinet approved the new Industry Waste Tyre Management Plan (IndWTMP) in March last year. The plan will severely worsen the waste tyre crisis. It lacks clear goals and timeframes, contains factual errors and assumptions, is vague, has numerous internal inconsistencies, and, arguably the most concerning, has no budget. REDISA initiated legal action against this plan in September 2024. The department, under the leadership of Minister Deon George, has so far missed every legal deadline in the case. Despite the irrationality of the published plan, and the legal action, the Department is moving ahead with tenders being issued for waste tyre processors, storage sites, depot operators and project managers for micro collectors that are incompatible with the plan.

 

Minister George has refused to meet with REDISA to find reasonable middle-ground on the matter, citing the "ongoing litigation". However, it makes no sense to use the legal case as a reason not to discuss a possible settlement that will save taxpayers money and lead to an amicable solution.

 

REDISA is hopeful that, in contrast to the DFFE's unwillingness to engage on this issue, the Portfolio Committee will realise the importance of engaging on the issue of functional waste management. "Soon Parliament will open and priorities for the year ahead will be identified. The waste tyre problem can be fixed relatively easily. But for that to happen, oversight and a realisation of the extent of the mismanagement is essential," said Erdmann.

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