By Leonard Mashinini
South Africa produces a minimum of 170 000 tons of waste tyres a year. These used tyres pollute the landscape, especially when burned in the informal economy to access wire to sell as scrap metal.
A lot has been written in the past about the serious environmental impact of waste tyres. What hasn’t received the attention it deserves, however, is the economic potential of turning tyre waste into opportunities of economic growth and job creation.
South Africa was a world leader in creating jobs through tyre recycling between 2013 and 2017, under the non-profit company Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (Redisa). Speak to the people on the ground, the micro-collectors, the transporters, the depot managers – those who make a living out of recycling – and you will hear them refer to those years as a time of progress and empowerment.
Through the use of a levy of R2.30 on each kilogram of tyre sold, Redisa was mandated by the government to introduce a reuse and recycling program for waste tyres. In a short space of time, 22 collection centres were constructed, more than 3 000 people were employed, and 226 SMMEs established. The system empowered unskilled workers and stimulated emerging entrepreneurs. And all of this on top of the considerable environmental benefits achieved through the responsible disposal of waste tyres
The well-constructed system connected tyre dealers, transporters, and depots, all while making sure all the parts of the recycling chain were compliant with legislative and regulatory requirements.
Since 2017, however, the government has switched to a new tax model and waste tyres are directly managed by the Waste Bureau under the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries.
While the negative environmental impact of this change is in itself a serious concern, the economic impact it had on micro-collectors and waste transporters throughout the country has been severe.
Arly Nolan is one of the many waste transporters in the Western Cape who was affected by the change.
“Our experience now is there are not enough places where the tyres can go to. At times the yards get very full and the private transporters are stopped. And that has very much affected our income. Ever since November 2017 everything went slow, everything went down. There are even times where we were told not to bring in tyres, because there is no space in the depots.”
Nolan regrets there no longer being a structure that formalised this informal section of the waste economy. “The previous system made me an honest businessman, made me compliant. Redisa came along and had me register. It turned me into a taxpayer.”
Phumla Hlalthuka, a micro-collector from Johannesburg, says since the change in 2017, people lost their jobs. “Where were they supposed to go? They have no work. Redisa was open for new people to come onboard. It created opportunity. I don’t see any improvement in collections. We need to let people know there is an opportunity in waste, and that is not happening.”
One way in which opportunity is held back is in the increased costs for transport. Under the previous system, Hlathuka explains, Redisa took more responsibility for transport and logistics, which made it much more cost-effective for micro collectors and others interested in starting a small business in waste tyre collection.
Another way waste entrepreneurs are held back is in the delays, inefficiencies and complications in the awarding of contracts. “When a contract ends, the processes take too long to get another contract. So you work in fear. It is a serious problem not knowing where you are standing. You don’t even know if you will be out of work.”
She is very anxious about the future of tyre recycling in South Africa. “This boat is sinking. We see no improvement, and so many of us are isolated from the waste stream. We are dropping out one by one. And people are desperate because there are no jobs around.”
“Depots are turning into storage sites, pretty much,” says Selwyn Naidu, who managed a depot in KwaZulu-Natal between 2015 and 2022. “Also very little attention is given to compliance. Compliance is important because if people don’t comply, there will definitely be issues.”
Like so many of the others in the industry, he voices worries about informal tyre burning and tyre dumping – actions turned to when a well-managed system is not in place. “People don’t even know the ripple effects that this type of tyre pollution can have.”
About the change in system, Naidu simply says: “Things fell flat, but the tyre levy is still being collected.”
I myself am a waste transporter. I have operated for 10 years in the Johannesburg region. I started with a bakkie and a trailer and grew to employing 13 people permanently.
The training, guidelines, monitoring and human support that was available in the previous system was indispensable to development. The system was transparent. There was interaction. We in the industry felt we had a voice.
That is not the case anymore. People feel demoralised. Having established a forum for tyre waste entrepreneurs through which they could voice their frustration, we handed a memorandum to government in 2022, outlining our concerns with the new system.
We did this because we think South Africa deserves a clean environment as well as an increased economic opportunities.
Redisa has recently launched a legal challenge against the government’s newly promulgated waste tyre management plan. They claim the plan will worsen the current situation. But while legal battles loom and policy decisions must be made, the voices of those in the industry are clear – the economic opportunities waste recycling represents to them are vanishing, leaving them bereft of hope.
Leonard Mashinini is a waste transporter from Johannesburg
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