Regulation on the Control of End-of-Life Tyres

The Regulation on the Control of End-of-Life Tyres was published in the Official Gazette No. 26357 on 25 November 2006 and entered into force on 1 January 2007 (Article 27). It has been amended four times: on 30 March 2010 (No. 27537), 10 November 2013 (No. 28817), 11 March 2015 (No. 29292) and, most recently, in the Official Gazette No. 33339 of 13 August 2026. The latest amendment reworked concepts and obligations such as collection authorisation, authorised collector and online declaration.

Which tyres does the regulation cover and what are the key prohibitions?

It covers the separate collection, transport, temporary storage, recovery, disposal, import, export and transit of all end-of-life tyres other than bicycle and solid tyres (Article 2). Using end-of-life tyres as fill in valleys or pits, accepting them at solid waste landfills, using them for heating and burning them for any purpose are prohibited (Article 5). Municipalities do not accept ELTs at solid waste landfills (Article 8); the Landfilling Regulation also prohibits accepting used tyres at landfill facilities.

How did the 2026 amendment change the collection system?

ELTs are collected by tyre producers, authorised organisations, environmentally licensed ELT recovery facilities and pyrolysis facilities processing ELTs. Businesses that collect must obtain ELT collection authorisation from the Ministry, and authorised collectors report the quantity collected to the Ministry by the end of March each year. Recovery and pyrolysis facilities collect ELTs only to process in their own facilities, and the annual quantity they collect cannot exceed the facility's annual processing capacity (Article 5). Authorised carriers contract with authorised collectors (Articles 4 and 12). Transport is by vehicles suitable for road haulage; the load area is covered with netting or tarpaulin, both sides of the body carry a sign reading "End-of-Life Tyre Transport Vehicle" and the Ministry's online programmes are used for transport (Article 14).

What obligations do producers, retreaders and facilities have?

Tyre producers must collect or have collected ELTs at rates set by the Ministry, based on the tonnage of tyres they placed on the domestic market the previous year, ensure their recovery or disposal and document this; quota applications are made by the last working day of March each year (Articles 17-18). Producers may form a non-profit structure under the Ministry's coordination and transfer their obligations to it. Retreaders keep records of retreaded and non-retreadable tyres and report them to the Ministry by the end of February each year (Article 10). Recovery facilities obtain an environmental licence, do not accept ELTs not brought by authorised carriers and send monthly activity reports (Article 11).

What are the temporary storage and accumulation rules?

At tyre repair shops, retreaders, retail outlets and auto-industry premises, ELTs may not be accumulated in the open and may be kept for at most sixty days until handed to authorised carriers (Article 5). Anyone operating a temporary storage facility must obtain a permit from the provincial directorate; this is not required for the businesses listed above for their own accumulation areas (Article 21). Storage areas need impermeable floors, fire precautions, a certificate from the fire brigade that fire precautions are adequate, a perimeter at least 1.5 m high, lightning protection and a weighbridge; open fires may not be lit within 300 metres of tyre piles (Article 16). If deficiencies are found, a correction period of two to six months is given, after which the permit is cancelled if they persist (Article 23).

What does it mean for destruction and recycling?

Recovery of ELTs is the rule (Article 5). Facilities that separate granulated rubber, steel and textile by mechanical crushing, and pyrolysis and reclaimed-rubber facilities, must obtain an environmental licence; using ELTs as crash barriers, noise-absorbing walls or dock fenders requires no recovery licence. For energy recovery, the Waste Incineration Regulation applies (Article 22). Tyres contaminated with hazardous substances or waste are disposed of at facilities with an environmental licence or working approval (Article 24). A fleet or business replacing old tyres hands them to the tyre dealer or an authorised carrier free of charge (Article 5).

What should companies pay attention to in practice?

Breaches are subject to administrative and criminal sanctions under Article 15, Article 20(1)(g), (r) and (s) and Article 23 of the Environment Law (Article 25). Tyre producers, ELT producers, carriers, temporary storage operators and recovery and disposal operators are jointly liable for environmental damage without regard to fault (Article 5). Businesses should give tyres only to authorised collectors and carriers and follow the authorisation and online declaration requirements introduced by the 2026 amendment.