Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has notified the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) (HOWM) Rules, 2016 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, to ensure safe storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous and other wastes in an environmentally sound manner.

The HOWM Rules, 2016 also allow import of the hazardous and other wastes listed in Part A and Part B of Schedule III for recycling, recovery, reuse and utilization including co-processing. Import of hazardous and other wastes is not permitted for disposal in the country. The import of hazardous and other wastes listed in Part A and Part B of Schedule III of the said Rules is allowed only to actual users with due permission from the MoEF&CC and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade license, as applicable. The Waste pneumatic and other tyres falls under Schedule III Part B of the said rules and allowed for import by actual user for recycling/recovery purposes to get end product such as reclaim rubber, crumb rubber, crumb rubber modified bitumen and recovered carbon black.

MoEF&CC has notified the ‘Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Waste Tyre’ in July, 2022, through amendment in Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 to ensure environmentally sound management of waste tyres. As per the Waste Tyre EPR notification, import of waste tyre for producing pyrolysis oil or char is prohibited.   The rules have provision to ensure that the imported waste tyre is used by the actual user for recycling/recovery purposes to get end products other than Tyre Pyrolysis Oil. Also, Waste Tyre EPR Portal developed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) under the said rules, ensures that imported waste tyre is not used for the production of tyre pyrolysis oil.

CPCB has revised the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) with respect to ‘Recycling of Waste Tyre Scrap for the recovery of Tyre Pyrolysis Oil, Pyro Gas and Char in Tyre Pyrolysis Oil (TPO) Units’ in January, 2025. The SOP has focussed on improvement of environmental performance of TPO Units across the country. The revised guidelines have been circulated to all the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) for the immediate implementation and are also available at CPCB’s website.

This information was provided by UNION MINISTER OF STATE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE, SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH, in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

*****

VM/SK

(Rajya Sabha US Q3263)

(Release ID: 2159293)