The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued a draft decision proposing to authorise a national Tyre Stewardship Scheme for five years. The aim of the Scheme is to reduce the amount of used tyres entering landfill, being illegally dumped or exported overseas.
The Australian Tyre Industry Council seeks authorisation of the proposed Scheme, which will be administered by Tyre Stewardship Australia.
“The Scheme has the potential to play an important role in reducing the volume of used tyres entering the domestic waste stream or being exported overseas and burned for fuel in an environmentally unsustainable way. This will reduce the environmental and health and safety hazards associated with such disposal methods,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.
Broadly, all participants in the Scheme must contribute to the environmentally sound use of end of life tyres, elimination of the inappropriate export of end of life tyres from Australia, elimination of the illegal dumping of end of life tyres and elimination of the disposal of end of life tyres to landfill. It also involves a levy of $0.25 per passenger car tyre equivalent being imposed on tyre importers to fund the operation of the Scheme. Among other things, levy funds will be used by the Scheme’s administrator to fund research and development activities for tyre-derived products.
“The ACCC is satisfied that the voluntary nature of the Scheme the small cost of the industry levy means there is likely to be little, if any, public detriment generated by the Scheme,” Mr Sims said.
Authorisation provides immunity from court action for conduct that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. Broadly, the ACCC may grant an authorisation when it is satisfied that the public benefit from the conduct outweighs any public detriment.
More information about this application for authorisation and the ACCC’s draft decision will be available at Public registers.