'Flawed' plan for waste tyres pulled

Recycling initiative says the minister’s move is good news for the environment and job creation

- Sheree Bega

Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Dion George has withdrawn the approval of the “flawed” industry waste-tyre management plan, to ensure a comprehensive review.

The withdrawal of approval for the plan, which was published in the Government Gazette on 20 March last year, would enable the department “to revisit the plan with a fine-tooth comb”, the environment department said this week.

The minister's decision reflects his “commitment to thoroughly reviewing and strengthening environmental policies as a newly appointed leader”, it added.

In September, the Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (Redisa), a non-profit company, hauled the minister and his department to court over the plan — approved by former environment minister Barbara Creecy in March last year — which it said “masquerades as a solution” to the country’s waste-tyre crisis.

In its court documents Redisa, which managed waste tyres from 2013 to 2017, said the plan had unachievable and unrealistic targets; lacked any budgetary detail; failed to use the available information and projections and had been created and approved in a procedurally flawed manner.

Redisa has welcomed George’s decision after “publicly calling for this materially flawed and self-defeating plan to be scrapped”.

The environment department said that, since taking office, the minister had prioritised a “meticulous evaluation” of decisions made by previous administrations.