China Rubber Association: firmly opposed to the import of waste tires

Recently, some media have reported articles such as "Recycled rubber enterprises face operational difficulties, and the industry urgently calls for the import of waste tires" and "Why is the demand for imported waste tires rising again?" The author believes that these articles are contrary to the current national policies, which are not conducive to the development of the circular economy in the rubber industry or the healthy development of the comprehensive utilization industry of waste rubber. Relevant leaders of the National Development and Reform Commission have also emphasized that China's comprehensive utilization of resources must be based on safeguarding national interests and must proceed from the overall situation.
It is well known that waste rubber is a highly resistant polymer that is difficult to degrade, especially waste tires, which have strong resistance to heat and mechanical damage. When stored in the open air for a long time, they not only occupy a large amount of land but also easily breed mosquitoes and insects, spread diseases, and even cause fires. In foreign countries, such as Japan, Canada, and the United States, fires have occurred due to the accumulation of large quantities of waste tires. In China, it is no exception. Reports of fires caused by the accumulation of waste tires are not uncommon every year. In addition to causing huge property losses to enterprises, they also severely damage the environment.
The disposal of waste tires remains a major challenge globally. Developed countries have historically adopted preferential policies such as tax reductions and financial subsidies for the disposal of waste tires. For example, although the legislation varies across states in the United States, the policies for disposing of waste tires are basically the same, with a subsidy of US$3-5 per tire; the Canadian government stipulates a subsidy of US$60 per ton of waste tires disposed; Europe provides a subsidy of €140 per ton of waste tires disposed; in Taiwan Province of China, the Environmental Protection Administration provides a subsidy of NT$3,200 per ton of waste tires disposed, and in Hong Kong, the Environmental Protection Department provides a subsidy of HK$1,700 per ton of waste tires disposed. This indicates that the industry is a public welfare industry encouraged by policies.
In the second half of 2010, the China Rubber Industry Association organized enterprises to visit the United States and Canada for an inspection on waste tires. Each state in the United States has relevant regulations on the disposal of waste tires. Through joint efforts, the stock of waste tires in the United States has been significantly reduced, with over 90% of waste tires being recycled and utilized, mainly for heat energy utilization and the production of rubber powder and reclaimed rubber. Regarding the social responsibility arising from waste tires, various states have negotiated and legislated, requiring tire manufacturers, tire sellers, and even import sellers to pay waste tire disposal fees at different proportions.
Glenn Maidment, the president of the Canadian Rubber Association, described the waste rubber recycling industry as "aimed at protecting the environment for the 43 million Canadians residing across 997,000 square kilometers in Canada." Elevating the recycling of waste rubber to such a lofty level is worthy of our contemplation. In addition to economic subsidies, Canadian provinces also promote the uses of end products from waste tires through various media, encouraging the use of rubber products produced from waste tires. At the same time, they provide financial loan support to waste tire processing enterprises and end rubber product manufacturers, enabling them to adopt more advanced production technologies and produce more applicable and environmentally friendly end products.
Similarly, France has banned the landfilling, discarding, and incineration of used tires since the 1980s. At the same time, it has supported the entrepreneurship and operation of used tire recycling enterprises through tax reductions, subsidies, and other means, encouraging research and development in this field. As a result, multiple technologies for the retreading and reuse of old tires, as well as the production and application of recycled rubber materials, have emerged.
In China, the "Circular Economy Promotion Law" introduced by the government on January 1, 2009, provides clear guidelines and legal basis for the recycling of waste rubber. China is a major country in tire production and consumption. In 2009, China generated 233 million waste tires, weighing approximately 8.6 million tons, which is a very large number. How to adhere to and implement the 3R principles of "resource recovery, reduction, harmlessness, and remanufacturing" for waste tires has become an urgent issue to be addressed. The National Development and Reform Commission predicts that if all 233 million waste tires are recycled, it would be equivalent to China's natural rubber production for five years. Currently, the utilization rate of waste tires in China is around 80%, indicating that there is still a long way to go in terms of recycling efforts. Recycling should first aim to purify the environment of our own country, so the focus of waste tire utilization must be placed domestically.
Liu Zengyuan, the head of the expert group of the Waste Rubber Comprehensive Utilization Branch of the China Rubber Industry Association, proposed that the comprehensive utilization industry of waste rubber in China should be evaluated using two indicators: firstly, the contribution rate of the industry's per capita GDP, and secondly, the energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP in the industry. Currently, reclaimed rubber and rubber powder are still low-value recycled products. However, in the current waste rubber processing process, the power consumption per 10,000 yuan of industrial output value for rubber powder is over 1000 kWh, and for reclaimed rubber, it is over 1500 kWh. The comprehensive energy consumption per unit product is still very high. However, this is necessary to eliminate the environmental pollution caused by waste tires and turn waste into treasure.
Therefore, from the comprehensive perspective of environmental protection, resources, and energy consumption, it is imperative to deal with domestic waste tires, but dealing with foreign waste tires would be counterproductive. It is necessary to prohibit the transfer of foreign waste tires to China, to avoid increasing domestic processing volume, prevent foreign waste tires from polluting our environment, and reduce excessive energy consumption. After all, waste tires are solid waste, and the process of dealing with them will incur high costs in terms of energy consumption and environmental risks.
In addition, China's advantage in cheap labor is gradually diminishing, which has been evident in the comprehensive utilization of waste rubber in our country.
Since 2009, China has listed the recycling and utilization of waste tires as a key development area, and has fully supported the recycling and utilization of domestic waste tires through various means such as formulating laws and regulations, offering tax incentives, and providing discount loans. However, if enterprises enjoying the aforementioned benefits are processing waste tires from other countries, it would defeat the original intention of the country. China has a lot of things to do and is far from having the financial resources, environmental capacity, and energy consumption to help other countries dispose of waste. Therefore, importing waste tires to produce reclaimed rubber, rubber powder, and retread tires would cause more harm than good. Waste tires cannot be imported; otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.
At present, China should further standardize the harmless recycling and environmentally friendly utilization system for waste tires, set industry thresholds, crack down on backyard refining, and promote the charging and compensation mechanism for waste tire recycling and utilization. Under the influence of the concept of "safety, efficiency, environmental protection, and energy conservation", China should realize and fulfill its historical mission of environmental protection and resource utilization in the comprehensive utilization of waste rubber.