Pneumatic tyres

Anteproyecto del Reglamento que establece metas de recolección y valorización y otras obligaciones asociadas de neumáticos (Preliminary draft regulation establishing goals for the collection and recovery of pneumatic tyres and related obligations) (4 pages, in Spanish)

A preliminary draft of the first supreme decree on Extended Producer Responsibility has been prepared in connection with Law 20.920, the framework law on waste management, extended producer responsibility and the promotion of recycling.

Extended Producer Responsibility obligates manufacturers and importers of pneumatic tyres to take care of waste tyres. As this obligation comes with a cost, it is an application of the "polluter pays" principle: when consumers buy tyres, they pay for the handling of the waste from the tyres. It is estimated that the rate will be between 1.5 and 7% of the value of the tyre.

The obligation applies both to pneumatic tyres that form part of a vehicle or machine of any type and to replacement tyres. It does not apply to tyres for bicycles, wheelchairs and the like or to solid tyres, about which certain information must be provided.

Pneumatic tyres are divided, by size, into two categories: those with rims under 57 inches (including tyres for light vehicles, buses and trucks, agricultural and construction machinery and motorcycles, among others) and those with rims of 57 inches or larger (giant tyres used only in large-scale mining). To promote the hierarchy of approaches to waste management, a goal of 60% is set for recovery through retreading or material recycling (reusing the rubber and steel as raw materials). The rest can be recovered in cement kilns or through pyrolysis, where part is recovered as fuel.