Dinama forces importers to take charge of used tires.PABLO MELGAR21 Apr 2016
In a short time, Uruguayans could be driving on roads made from used tires. In Europe there are decades of experience in this regard and users claim that their use significantly improves driving comfort, and in doing so contributes to the recycling of polluting material.
Tire recycling around the world is done through the grinding process. The product is reduced to powder ready to be mixed with asphalt or burned in high-powered ovens.
The Uruguayan company Bitafal, located in Colonia Nicolich, claims it could mix asphalt with up to 15% rubber crumb, with "excellent" results. The firm claims it has completed all the necessary tests and is capable of consuming "all the tire crumb generated in Uruguay," given the production volume at its facilities.
Meanwhile, the company Greenur installed a plant with the technology and technical qualifications for recycling tires.
Used tires could also be transformed into energy. So far, they are reused in jetties or in the manufacture of handbags.
Every year, around 15.000 tons of tires enter the country. That's almost two and a half million units of different sizes, from the small ones used on bicycles to the huge ones used on tractors.
To this amount, we must add the tires that come with imported vehicles that are "shod" at the source, as explained yesterday by engineer Federico Souteras, head of the Solid Waste Department of the National Environmental Directorate (Dinama).
Until now, Uruguay has not had a system that allows for the reuse or safe disposal of tires. In fact, they accumulate in landfills without having a specific use and creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
Yesterday, DINAMA organised a conference held at the headquarters of the Chamber of Products of the Country, attended by technicians, importers and traders from the sector. Also participating were companies that seek to recycle used tyres and tubes.
The environmental agency designed a plan that requires all tire sellers in the country to accept back the tires once they have reached the end of their useful life. It did so through decree 358/2015.
As in any process led by the State, a series of deadlines have been defined to implement the obligation decided by Dinama.
The Office of Planning and Budget (OPP) together with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), made a call to local companies (which expired on June 30, 2015) to carry out a consultancy with the objective of studying the feasibility of using used tires in the construction of asphalt pavements or other alternatives.
The deadline for submitting initiatives or business plans that include the final destination and the logistics required for the movement and industrialization of used tires is May 9.
Cost.
During his presentation, Souteras stressed that since the decree was published last January, importers are responsible for the final destination of the tires.
"Dealers must accept tires at no cost to customers. However, if the seller sells bicycle wheels, they are not required to accept tractor tires," he said.
However, tyre users will have to pay a surcharge on their first purchase to finance the entire recycling system. This money will cover the obligation imposed by Dinama on tyre retailers. The amount of this price increase was not disclosed during the conference.
The regulation enables merchants to join together to respond to the decree. In this regard, the members of the Chamber of Tire Importers of Uruguay created a trust that will be managed by Estudio Ferrere.
Although companies have until May 9 to submit a plan to the Dinama, there is still no definitive plan regarding what to do with the trust. However, it is said that with these funds a cluster could be formed to develop logistics, production, final disposal and marketing.
Formula E tires, a magnet for Aedes.
Hundreds of tires that were used as fenders on the Formula E race track in Punta del Este are still stacked in a vacant lot in the Marelli quarries, behind the former agricultural market (Route 39).
The land belongs to the Municipality and today, after the heavy rains that fell throughout the country, it constitutes a real breeding ground for mosquitoes.
It is paradoxical that the departmental governments, on the one hand, promote campaigns to prevent the spread of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, transmitter of the dengue virus, and on their own open-air premises keep piled up the covers that were used in the race on December 19.
In Montevideo, there are also piles of tyres left out in the open near Camino Maldonado, and in other cities, such as Río Branco, the municipality does not know what to do with the 800.000 unused tyres that are piling up in huge piles.
Around a thousand tires a week arrive at the city's warehouses and a similar number to other cities bordering Brazil, generating a serious environmental problem.
ANOTHER COST FOR THE TRUCK.
Transportation “Will pay for the party.”
It is estimated that some 65.000 vehicles are used for transport in Uruguay. Approximately 35.000 are specialized in freight and charge per kilometer. The Intergremial del Transporte Profesional de Carga (ITPC) estimates that 40% of the national fleet is stopped or working below fixed costs. In fact, the latest increases in costs were not passed on to prices due to the perceived slowness in the market.
"There are too many trucks for the little activity there is, many people were betting on rice and soybeans that were cut by the rain and the tornado. Many people invested and are paying fees," said Humberto Perrone, manager of ITPC.
Perrone believes that mandatory recycling of tyres is “something correct from an environmental point of view”. However, the businessman expressed his disagreement with the procedure used by Dinama.
"It is something unique compared to what we are used to. In Europe there is a surcharge on each cover to cover these activities. Here it would be something commercial that would be paid for in the price, so it would have VAT, which is a bit inconsiderate," said Perrone.
The union leader said that his sector will have to “pay for the party” along with the public transport companies.
There are doubts about the application.
At yesterday's Dinama conference, it was discussed that there could be two "master plans" or recycling systems. In this regard, engineer Federico Souteras, head of the Solid Waste Department of the National Environmental Directorate (Dinama), stated that it is expected that over time a single plan will be established.
At the conference, a businesswoman asked if Dinama planned to establish criteria for the import of tyres that take into account their durability and duration. Souteras' answer was “no”, “that would be done with the Ministry of Industry and Unasev because they have the powers.”
Another businessman asked if there would be price controls on the product and environmental goals. “What is being asked is that end consumers be informed about the extra cost,” said engineer Souteras.
Regarding the goals, the official highlighted that it is expected to cover a minimum of 80% of the stocks and that it could reach 110% because it would include existing warehouses.
Several businessmen in the sector insisted that it is still unknown how much the final cost of the operation and final recycling of the tires will be for their clients.
In this regard, it was noted that importing companies will not make any profit from the plan.
Source: elpais.com.uy
