First the Bloemfontein high court ruled that the Department of
Environmental Affairs may continue implementing a reworded recycling plan, as
resubmitted by the Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of SA (Redisa).
Then the SA National Civics Organisation (Sanco), which initially
held an exploratory meeting with the tyre industry forum, on Wednesday aligned
with Redisa.
The delighted CEO of Redisa, Hermann Erdmann, said: “We can now
move ahead with the original intention of the plan, which is to remove waste
tyres from the environment whilst creating jobs and building a recycling
industry.”
The initiative also indicated on its website that the payment
deadline for February’s levies was yesterday. The levy is R2,30 per kilogram of
each new tyre sold, which tyre importers and manufacturers have to pay to fund
what the head of the Iscor Innovation Centre at Vaal University of Technology,
Jan Jooste, has described as “a very weak plan”.
Another vocal opponent of Redisa, Dr Etienne Human, CEO of the
non-profit organisation The South African Tyre Recycling Process Company,
estimated that because the Redisa levy is added into the first link of the tyre
sales chain, the levy per kilogram could increase by between 40% and 150% as
each new link in the sales chain passes the cost on to the buyer.
Redisa advises importers and distributers: “There is no obligation
to reflect the levy on your invoice. Any adjustment you make to recoup the levy
paid by you (if itemised by the supplier) may either be incorporated in the
selling price or itemised by you in turn, at your discretion.”
Trentyre in Pietermaritzburg told Weekend Witness
that the average truck tyre weighs almost 64 kg, which means that the source
cost in levies for the 18 wheels on a small, three-axle truck is some R2 650.
Using the 40% prediction of Human, a fleet operator might have to pay as much as
R3 700 to get the tyres from a dealer.
Jooste feels so strongly about the weakness of Redisa's plan that
he punctuated his study with exclamation marks. He notes that Redisa’s plan
lacks the most basic business information and contains too many conflicting
figures to qualify for funding from the Technological Innovation Agency or the
Industrial Development Corporation.
Redisa’s website states it will create about 15 000 jobs, “of which
around 5 000 will be existing people — many operating illegally”.
Jooste’s criticism is that these jobs will be for drivers moving
tyres from one heap to another. “Transport is a non-value adding activity,” he
states, adding that “transport is always wasteful”.
Ruth Bhengu, president of Sanco, is convinced, however, that
Redisa’s plan for reusing and recycling the estimated 11 million tyres sold in
SA each year is the way forward.
On Wednesday she said in a statement that Sanco would help drive
Redisa’s plan, “a natural fit” for Sanco’s quest in developing “a participatory
developmental state”, by “reducing the number of poor families dependent on
government grants and free services”.
Vishal Premlall, national director of Tyre Dealers and Fitment
Association and Consumer Affairs, told Weekend Witness the
turnabout was “still very sensitive”.
The Integrated Tyre
Industry Forum, comprising representatives from the manufacturers, importers,
retreaders, tyre dealers and fitters association, was considering a position
with regard to Sanco and the way forward, including the Constitutional Court
route, Premlall added.
“We will be in a clearer position sometime next week, following
certain strategy meetings,” he stated.
• alwyn.viljoen@gmail.com
