The Redisa (Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa) tyre recycling plan, recently gazetted amongst much controversy, has received a major blow. The Retail Motor Industry (RMI) succeeded in getting a temporary interdict against Redisa and the Minister of Environment from implementing the plan. This effectively means that no tyre producer is currently obliged to register with the Redisa plan.

The RMI website states that “The Judge found in favour of the RMI and further stated in his judgment that in his view there will indeed be harm in the fact that the tyre producer is required to pay levies that it notionally does not lawfully owe. Among many concerns relating to the Redisa plan, the RMI substantiated its contention that the plan is flawed on a certain item 15.1 in the plan. This item clearly illustrates how the Redisa plan will not be able to effectively dispose of waste tyres – in fact, according to an independent expert report, it would have caused a backlog of 427 917 tonnes of waste tyres by month 41. This is approximately double the waste tyre mass sold in South Africa annually. As a result of the interdict granted, no one can be obliged to comply with the plan and in particular to raise and pay the levies prescribed by it. Furthermore, the consumer will not be subjected to a further price increase in new tyres as a direct result of the proposed waste tyre levy.”
But there has been support of Redisa coming from the Black Business Council (BBC) which released a statement from its CEO Xolani Qubeka stating that it supported the plan and its job creation scheme. Qubeka added that “white businesses were disconnected from the developmental needs of the country.”
The Redisa plan is in a large part based on small black business development used to collect waste tyres.
For more information on the Redisa plan, please see the November 2012 edition of RĕSource.

www.automobil.co.za/local-news/implementation-of-redisa-plan-interdicted/