MATRDS Urges Government to Tackle Waste Tyre Issue
The Malaysian Association of Tyre Retreaders & Dealers Societies (MATRDS) urges the government to take immediate action on waste tyre management. The association highlights the pressing need for sustainable tyre disposal solutions to address the environmental impact of waste tyres in Malaysia.
The Malaysian tyre industry has faced the issue of waste tyres for many years. With the number of vehicles increasing rapidly in the country, the disposal of end-of-life tyres has become a growing concern.
The Malaysian Association of Tyre Retreaders & Dealers Societies (MATRDS) recently held a press conference to urge the government to formulate an effective, once-and-for-all plan to resolve this waste tyre issue.
“Since the economy reopened on 1st October last year, many tyre dealers across Malaysia faced the challenge of managing waste tyres as the tyre recycling factories refused to accept them. The tyre recycling plant is the only legal channel to scrap waste tyres, but many of them had wound up during the pandemic, resulting in today’s predicament,” said President Tee Tau.
State governments ban waste tyres from landfill sites, and without alternative solutions, he said tire dealers had to stack their waste tyres at the storefront, affecting their image. In addition, the Environment Department, Ministry of Health, and municipal councils fined many for placing waste tyres too close to the road or finding mosquitoes breeding in the water collected in the waste tyres.
He added that before the pandemic, former President Goh Soo Chay called on government departments to seek solutions and that they would try their best to cooperate as much as possible, but the problem remained unresolved.
MATRDS Secretary Goh Kiang Weng said that as tire dealers were the only agents to sell tyres, it was unfair for them to handle waste tyres. He stated, “Since consumers used these tyres, shouldn’t the consumers be responsible for the disposal? We have been facing this waste tire problem for more than 10 years now.
“After the pandemic, it has become more serious. Although the whole of Malaysia is facing this waste tyre problem, the situation varies. In some states, tyre recycling factories are very slow in collecting scrapped tyres. Previously, the collectors collected them for free, but now some charge RM1 while others charge RM 2 for a tyre.”
He pointed out that the tire industry should not bear the cost of waste tyre disposal and should be the government’s responsibility. After all, this was a matter of national environmental protection. This call flies in the face of every tyre manufacturer that agreed to the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme created, where the manufacturer is considered the producer and responsible for recovering its waste.
“We also urge the government to stop dealers from importing waste tyres to Malaysia. This might be because the profit from selling imported waste tyres is higher than that of local ones, which has slowed the recycling of local waste tyres. We hope our government would take this issue seriously and develop a good solution as the tyre industry is willing to cooperate,” he added.
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