The Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (Redisa) has been placed under provisional liquidation by the Western Cape High Court.

This follows an application by Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa.

The South African Tyre Manufacturers Conference (SATMC) recently responded to these developments and said that to date, Redisa was its only approved waste tyre plan.

Two weeks ago, Redisa announced that it had ceased all tyre collections from registered collection points, including micro-collectors. This was due to a change in its funding model which is based on the implementation of an environmental tyre levy through the Customs and Excise Act.

SATMC said it welcomed the implementation of the waste tyre levy that took effect on 1 October 2016.

“To date, SATMC members have been paying an amount of R2.30 per kilogram of tyres manufactured to Redisa, which amounts to a staggering total industry spend of between R500 – R600 million per annum,” it said.

“In the interim, a liquidator has been appointed to take immediate control of Redisa’s business, and to ensure there’s no impact on collections from subscribers to the plan,” SATMC added.

Nobuzwe Mangcu, managing executive at the SATMC, said that with the provisional liquidation of Redisa, its tyre industry now had the opportunity to work with government and other key industry players to implement a long-term solution to waste tyre management.

“Thus far the industry has not been part of any institutional governance arrangements overseeing waste initiatives,” he said. “This also happens to be one of the main reasons why we find ourselves in this current predicament.”

Mangcu also said the SATMC will support its members and other industry key players in South Africa’s tyre manufacturing, recycling, disposal and retail industries and will ensure industry adherence to local and international legal requirements.

“In this regard, the SATMC will provide support and advice to the Department of Environmental Affairs and associate industry role players, as well as the company appointed through the liquidation process to ensure continued services until a new service-provider is put in place,” it said in a statement.

Speaking on Redisa’s allocated funds, the SATMC said it was unable to assess whether funds paid by the industry were properly used to carry out Redisa’s “legislated mandate”.

The SATMC added that Redisa’s scheme also “failed to provide the jobs and recycling which taxpayers were paying for”.

“What lacked from day one was greater transparency and access to accurate annual financial and progress reports,” Mangcu said. “There also should’ve been more than just one waste tyre plan implemented.  Hopefully we’ve all learnt from the past and can now look toward a future in which we embrace innovative solutions and constructive proposals, supportive of economic growth and empowerment.”