CPCB directs producers to procure EPR certificates for tyre disposal

The government has mandated that producers of waste tyres fulfil their Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) obligations by purchasing EPR Certificates from registered recyclers.

The Central Pollution Control Board has asked all producers to fulfil their assigned EPR obligations for fiscal years 2023 and 2024.

EPR is a policy tool that shifts the responsibility for a product’s environmental impact beyond its initial production, placing it on the producer throughout its entire life cycle, including its end-of-life management and disposal.

Tyre producers are now mandated to ensure efficient disposal of their products. They are required to procure EPR Certificates from accredited recyclers and regularly submit quarterly and annual reports to regulatory bodies.

“All registered Recyclers are hereby directed to generate EPR certificates against the Waste Tyres recycled. Further, Recyclers shall also recycle the Waste Tyre available with them and generate the EPR Certificates for the same. The EPR certificates shall be generated on the EPR portal in compliance with the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management & Transboundary Amendment Rules, 2022) fulfilling the SOP/Instruction sheets available at EPR portal,” a CPCB notification said.

Recycling processes aim to reduce the environmental impact of waste tyres by diverting them from landfills and converting them into valuable resources for various industries. The final outcomes of recycling waste tyres include reclaimed rubber, crumb rubber, crumb rubber modified bitumen, recovered carbon black (suitable for use as a raw material in new tyre manufacturing), and pyrolysis oil or char (exclusively utilised as a fuel and not for producing new tyres).

Recyclers can also transfer the EPR Certificates to the Producers based on the demands raised. If the producer or recyclers are not able to fulfil the requirement they will face punitive action.

“Necessary actions as per the rules will be initiated against non-complying entities,” the notification said.

Manufacturers and importers of new tyres in India face escalating recycling responsibilities under the EPR regime. Starting with 35 per cent of their 2020-21 production/imports in 2022-23, the target climbs to 70 per cent in 2023-24 and reaches 100 per cent of the previous year’s production from 2024-25 onwards.

New units join the program after two years, hitting 100 per cent responsibility in the third year. Waste tyre importers have an even stricter task with managing 100 per cent of the tyres they imported in the previous year, with import for producing pyrolysis oil or char explicitly banned.

Currently, among the producer category, there are 52 OEMs and 126 importers, while 355 recyclers have submitted registration applications. Of these, 130 producers and 164 recyclers have been granted approval.