How to Import Waste Pneumatic Tyres for Recycling?

Stats reveal that India disposes of roughly 275,000 tyres annually but still needs a comprehensive plan. Additionally, around 3 million waste tyres are imported into India for recycling. The imported waste pneumatic tyres are recycled as crumb rubber, reclaimed rubber, crumb rubber modified bitumen (CRMB), recovered carbon black, and pyrolysis oil/char. However, over time the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has prohibited the import of used tyres for direct reuse. So, provisions under Hazardous Waste Management (HWM) Rules, 2008, apply in the case of the import of waste pneumatic tyres. Read on to know everything in detail.

What are waste pneumatic tyres?

A waste pneumatic tyre is a tyre that can't be used for its original intended use any further. However, importing waste pneumatic tyres is done for retreading for further use or recovery by being shredded, cut, and used in various applications like sports ground surfaces, footwear and carpets. These tyres can also be used as tyre-derived fuel for energy recovery.

Waste pneumatic tyres v/s used pneumatic tyres

Before importing waste pneumatic tyres for recycling, it is necessary to understand the fundamental difference. A used pneumatic tyre is subjected to any use and/or wear. The main constituents of used tyres are rubber, steel and fibre in varied proportions based on their duty. The environmental and safety challenges in recycling used pneumatic tyres occur because of the emission of fibre, fire hazards and fine carbon particles and odour. These partly worn and old tyres can be reused without further treatment, i.e. direct reuse, which includes -

• (i) Old (out-of-date) tyres that are used for less demanding applications;
• (ii) Tyre fitted to second-hand vehicles that are sold or removed from vehicles that are scrapped; and
• (iii) Tyres exchanged for purposes other than having reached the end of their life, like the vehicle owner's fitting new wheels or a set of high-performance tyres.

Conditions for importing waste pneumatic tyres

Import of waste pneumatic tyres in India is allowed only for recycling or resource recovery. However, the importer must obtain permission from MoEF&CC.

Import of waste pneumatic tyres

Permission to import waste pneumatic tyres is given to users with the necessary consent and adequate facilities. The facilities must be sufficient for recycling waste pneumatic tyres for utilisation or resource recovery.

Import of waste pneumatic tyres is allowed for which applications?

• Utilisation/co-processing in cement kilns
• Crumb rubber and downstream products
• Tyre pyrolysis oil (Prohibited under the latest Hazardous and other waste (Management and Transboundary) Amendment Rules, 2022)

Requirements for seeking permission for import of waste pneumatic tyres

A person intending to import waste pneumatic tyres must comply with the following documentary requirements -

• i. he should be an actual user;
• ii. must possess valid consent to establish (CTE) and consent to operate (CTO) issued by the concerned Pollution Control Committees (PCCs)/State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) of respective union territory (UT) or state;
• iii. documents showing proof of compliance with the minimum facilities in the form of video, photographs, documents etc.;
• iv. certificate of fire clearance from concerned authorities; and
• v. should have a valid IEC (import-export certificate) granted by DGFT (Directorate General of Foreign Trade).

Minimum required facilities and operating practices for recycling tyre scrap

(a) Production of crumb rubber/reclaimed rubber

The applicant intending to import tyre scrap to produce crumb rubber/reclaimed rubber must possess the following facilities/equipment:

De-beading machines with safety guards wherever manual intervention involved or without manual intervention to guarantee the safety of workers.

Chip-making and strip-cutter machines must have safety guards to guarantee the safety of workers.

The shredder/cracker must have an adequate arrangement for capturing fibre and fugitive particulates leading to bag filters/cyclone separators. The shredder/cracker must also have magnetic separators to remove iron particles.

Facilities must have acoustic enclosures to control the noise from these machines.

The pulveriser/grinder, which further decreases the crumb size, must necessarily have adequate arrangements to extract fine particles and fibres through suction and bag filters. All the vibrating screens, conveyors and transfer points, and packing must be fitted and covered with a suction system connected to bag filters.

The whole process area must have a proper ventilation system.

Adequate fire fighting arrangements in terms of fire hydrants have to be installed in the premise of the units so that they should cover all the plot areas.

All workers must have personal protective gadgets/equipment like masks, safety aprons, shoes, goggles, gloves, helmets and earplugs.

(b) Production of reclaimed rubber

In addition to the above requirement, the following environmental safeguards must be provided while converting the crumb rubber into reclaimed rubber:

• i. Guards should be available on machines where manual feeding is involved;
• ii. An adequate ventilation system must be available in the process area because of fumes generation and the high-temperature environment.

Hazardous & other waste (Management and Transboundary Movement) Amendment (HOWM) Rules, 2022

The producers (importers) and the recyclers of waste pneumatic tyres are covered under the EPR obligations. Registration for importer of waste pneumatic tyres is compulsory. This means no entity - importer or recycler of waste tyres can conduct any business without registration.

Registration

• (1) The importer of the tyre scrap must register on the portal.
• (2) No entity must start any business without registration.
• (3) The registered entities must not deal with any unregistered recycler or importer of waste pneumatic tyres.
• (4) In case any registered entity willfully conceals information or furnishes false information for obtaining the registration/return/report/information needed to be furnished or provided under this Schedule or in case of any irregularity, the registration of such entity will be revoked by the CPCB for three years after allowing a chance of being heard. In addition, environmental compensation charges will also be imposed in such cases, according to paragraph 10.
• (5) If any entity is included in more than one category, the entity must register under those categories individually.
• (6) The CPCB will charge such registration fees from the applicants as may be mentioned gradually with the approval of the steering committee (SC) constituted in paragraph 13.

Modalities of the EPR regime

(1) All pneumatic waste tyres importers must have the following EPR obligations, namely: -

(a) For waste tyre importers: -

• (i) The EPR obligation for waste tyre importers in the year (Y) must be 100% of the tyre imported in the year (Y-1)
• (ii) Importing waste tyres to produce pyrolysis oil or char is prohibited.

EPR certificate generation for waste tyres

(1) The CPCB must generate an EPR certificate via the portal in favour of a registered recycler, and the eligible quantity for generating these certificates must be calculated according to the following table, namely: -

(2) Term of Reference

For the table referred to in sub-paragraph (1)

(i) The quantity eligible for generation of the EPR certificate must be calculated according to the following formula, namely: -

Q_EPR = Q_P x C_F x W_P ;

(ii) C_F = conversion factor for each end product must be determined by the CPCB;

(iii) W_P = the weightage is reviewed by the SC gradually because of the availability of material, technological advancements and other factors;

(iv) W_P = 1 for imported waste tyres for all categories, and the value of the waste tyre certificate must be reduced by dividing it by the WP of respective certificates when the EPR certificates bought by waste tyre importers are adjusted against their EPR obligation.

(3) (a) The validity of the EPR certificate is two years from the end of the financial year it was generated.

(b) The expired certificate is automatically extinguished after the period unless extinguished before, as per sub-paragraph (2) of paragraph 7.

(4) (a) Each EPR certificate must have a unique number mentioning the code of the end product, year of generation, recycler code and a unique code.

(b) The EPR certificates for waste tyres must be in the denominations of 100, 200, 500 and 1000 Metric Tonnes or as may be decided by the CPCB with the approval of the SC constituted under paragraph 13.

Responsibilities of the pneumatic waste tyre recyclers

(1) All the tyre scrap recyclers must submit monthly information regarding the quantity of waste tyres used and the end product produced, the EPR certificate sold and other relevant information on the portal.

(2) All the recyclers must submit quarterly and annual returns in the form mentioned on the portal on or before the month end of the next quarter to which the return relates. Although the import of waste pneumatic tyres adds to the waste being generated, doing so responsibly will reduce the piles in landfills.

(b) Sealing and Cutting Machine

It seals or cuts the biodegradable plastic bag according to the required design and size.

(c) Printing Machine

It is used to print the company logo, name and choose the colour. Hence this machine plays a vital role in promoting your brand.

Biodegradable plastic carry bag manufacturing process

The biodegradable plastic bags manufacturing process proceeds as follows:

Raw Material Preparation

The granules are cleaned and processed to remove impurities. They are then dried & ground into a fine powder.

Extrusion

The powder is blended with a binding agent and other additives to form a dough-like mixture. This mixture is then fed into an extruder, which heats, melts, and pushes it through a die to create a continuous film.

Calendering

The film is then passed through a calendar, which soothes and cools it. This gives it a uniform thickness and surface.

Cutting and Bagging

The film is then cut into desired sizes and shaped into bags. They are then packed and sealed in biodegradable bags.

Quality Control

The bags are subjected to various quality control tests to ensure they meet the desired specifications and standards.

Marketing for biodegradable plastic carry bags

You can directly market your biodegradable plastic bags to grocery stores, local shops, supermarkets, etc. If you know the benefits of these bags over single-use plastic bags in terms of environment and price, you can easily acquire a position in the market. You must easily target -

• Grocery store
• Departmental store
• Supermarket
• Boutique
• Fast food restaurants

No wonder manufacturing biodegradable plastic bags is a profitable venture. The process needs raw materials, specialised equipment and expertise. Additionally, it is essential to understand the applicable regulations and certifications, create a comprehensive business plan and finance well. With the proper knowledge and resources, setting up a biodegradable plastic bag manufacturing business in India can lead to immense success.