Page 17 - Council Journal Autumn 2019

NEWS Munster Tyre Recycling End of Life Tyre Recycling -
Repak ELT
Michael Ahern of Munster Tyre Recycling outlines the obligations and compliance with the national tyre recycling scheme.
hat have the Wchallenges been in
some of the rogue operators in the market place, although some still exist. We see this as a real and viable threat to Munster Tyre Recycling and the waste tyre industry as a whole. Without the tremendous help afforded to us by members of the Repak ELT Team, we would not be where we are at today. They are a constant source of help and advice.
a collection permit to collect tyres, know your permit extremely well and figure out what you can and can’t do.
There are several challenges Munster Tyre Recycling face in running a waste tyre collection service. Firstly, we aim to provide a bespoke, reliable and fully compliant tyre collection service to a wide range of customers which include garages and tyre retail outlets, scrap yards, farms, local authority depots and household waste recycling centres. One of the main challenges we face on a daily basis would be ‘our competitors’.
As with any business which relies heavily on customers, always provide a reliable service, do not let your customers down unnecessarily. Work closely with the likes of the NWCPO (national waste collection permit office) and your local county council (Kerry County Council in our case) and also local government as they are a vital part of your business.
this area?
We strive to have and maintain a friendly customer relationship which we hope in turn develops into loyalty towards Munster Tyre Recycling. Another challenge would be the whole area of compliance. By this I mean, if garages and retailers (main customer base) are not members of Repak ELT (End of Life Tyres) then we are unable to collect from them. We believe there are rogue operators still operating in the market which in turn affects our business.
What does the future hold? (note changes in industry coming down the track, new tech, legislation etc.)
Other challenges include, rogue operators not being fully compliant and not abiding by the rules as set out by Repak ELT. Rogue operators need to be dealt with appropriately and individually as their actions undermine the scheme and its integrity. One of the first challenges of the scheme (Repak ELT est. October 2017) for us was to get our customers to be compliant and keep their monthly reporting up to date.
We are all the time keeping up to date in terms of the regulations and permits (collection and yard permits are needed for collecting and dealing with waste tyres) needed. We always try to do our best in any situation.
We see local government taking a key lead in this by providing funding to help end producers to fully recycle the tyres collected, so end products such as tyre shred/ chips can be used for example in playground matting or equestrian arenas. If the government and local authorities got on board with regards to using more recyclable materials such as waste tyres in for example the construction of new roads, this would be a step in the right direction.
How did you/the business adapt? (what processes/technologies/ people did you use to overcome these challenges?)
The advice I would give is to find out all the information required to tackle the challenges faced. Be prepared for these challenges and do not be afraid to ask for help. Look at other business’s in the industry for ideas and inspiration. Link in with your local enterprise office who were a tremendous help to Munster Tyre Recycling.
We need them to be open minded and support this exciting opportunistic industry. There is a huge amount of usage for recycled rubber as can be seen in Ireland and other countries worldwide. Ireland is too reliant on the export market and therefore needs to find new markets and innovative ways of dealing with waste tyres. Legislation will have to change in relation to the end of waste criteria to allow for the usage of recycled rubber products.
Repak ELT was a long-awaited and much need compliance scheme for the industry. We offered any assistance we could to garages and any customer who needed help in relation to being compliant or completing their monthly reports.
Do a short-term business type course to gain some skills on how to run a business. In terms of the regulation and, to keep up to date, educate yourself as much as possible on them as they make up the bulk of your business. For example, you need
The Repak ELT Scheme has helped to regulate the market. It has ceased
Council Journal 17
What lessons did you learn/ are you learning from this?
The future is brighter now with the introduction of Repak ELT. There are a lot of changes coming down the line. More so European changes, the circular economy. What waste is produced in Ireland should be dealt with in Ireland. This is both an opportunity and a challenge for all involved. A lot of this will have to be government led, new markets will have to be sought for our end products, end products as a result of shredding for example.
We have learned that having a loyal customer base is vital to the success of Munster Tyre Recycling. Put simply, no customers equal no tyres! Munster Tyre Recycling are constantly learning.
What advice can you give to someone in a similar situation?