South Africa’s waste tyre crisis remains no closer to a resolution after the government has spent almost ten years trying to produce an Industry Waste Tyre Management Plan.
This is according to the Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (Redisa), which said on Monday that years of drafting, consultation, publication and withdrawal of proposals by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment had failed to produce a workable system to deal with waste tyres.
Redisa is an NPO representing the tyre recycling industry, informal waste pickers and SMMEs across the country.
Redisa representative Stacey Davidson said the delay carried both environmental and economic costs, while transporters continued to pay the R2.30/kg environmental levy intended to support waste tyre management operations.
“Waste tyres remain in the system, depots are overflowing and potential waste industry investors remain unable to move at scale without regulatory certainty,” Davidson said.
The environmental levy adds roughly 3% to 5% to the total cost of a new tyre. It was introduced in 2017 to fund the Waste Bureau’s operations to recycle used tyres.
A standard commercial truck tyre, such as a 315/80 R22.5, weighs between 55kg and 78kg, depending on tread depth and casing type. Based on an average weight of 70kg, the levy amounts to R161 per tyre. For an 18-wheeler, this equates to R2 898.
During a recent consultation with industry on a future plan, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research said R774 million had been collected through the tyre levy in 2024/25, with R404 million allocated to tyre management.
However, only 48 926 tonnes of waste tyres were processed against estimated waste generation of about 240 000 tonnes.
Davidson said the recent consultation with the department had done little to reassure the industry.
Instead of presenting a clear plan, she said the session had largely outlined how the withdrawn 2024 plan would be updated, followed by a request for stakeholders to submit written comments to “inform the drafting” of the new plan.
“This is not a circular economy. It is just a circular process. The industry is being asked to keep commenting while waste tyres keep piling up,” Davidson said.
South Africa had required a workable waste tyre plan since Redisa was removed as waste tyre manager in 2017, she said.
A new planning process began in 2019. A plan was published in March 2024, withdrawn in 2025, and a new six-month update process is now under way.
Davidson said Redisa was also concerned that the latest consultation material contained errors, contradictory figures and questionable assumptions.
The session appeared to rely on unclear data, including disputed replacement-tyre assumptions, processing figures labelled as ‘audited’, and discrepancies between previous depot stockpile figures and those now being presented.
“These are not simple spreadsheet mistakes,” said Redisa representative Chris Crozier.
“If the data is wrong, the targets will be wrong. If the targets are wrong, the budget will be wrong. And if the budget is wrong, South Africa will end up with yet another plan that cannot work.”
Crozier said the sector needed an implementable system with a budget, clear roles, credible data, enforceable timeframes and operational accountability.
Davidson said South Africa had already shown that a waste tyre system could work.
“Redisa grew recycling rates from 4% to 55% between 2013 and 2017. The country does not lack experience. It lacks the political and administrative will to finalise a practical plan.”
The organisation called on the department to stop recycling the same failed process and urgently produce a funded, practical and enforceable plan.
