Waste tyre imports a bad proposition for India

India produces over six percent of the global waste tyres every year. Every day India discards about 275,000 tyres but there is currently no comprehensive plan to deal with them. In addition, India imports millions of waste tyres from other countries which get used in the pyrolysis industry.

Recent estimates show that about 300,000 tons of waste tyres are imported into the country each year from across the world for recycling and disposal, which, however, are not always done through environmentally safe procedures.

Reacting to a plea by a non-governmental organization – Social Action for Forest and Environment, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has expressed concern over the growing waste problem and asked the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to devise a comprehensive plan to address the issue. The NGT also stressed on the need to restrict the import of waste tyres to ensure that India does not become a dump yard for global waste.

According to the plea, use of waste tyres by the pyrolysis industry operating in the country which are engaged in producing inferior quality pyrolysis oil, pyrolysis gas (pyro gas), solid residue (char), carbon black and steel through the pyrolysis process needs to be banned to prevent environmental damage.

The activity emits highly carcinogenic/cancer-causing pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), dioxin, furans and oxides of nitrogen which are extremely harmful to the respiratory system.

A Bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said the pyrolysis process involves high levels of pollution which adversely affects the health of workers.

The applicant pointed out to the tribunal that the use of waste tyres by the pyrolysis industry in India, which produces inferior quality products needs to be banned to prevent environmental damage.

Pyrolysis is a thermal degradation process carried out in conditions with limited or no oxygen to restrict combustion of the material. Pyrolysis of tyres and rubber products produce low-grade oils, pyrolysis gas (pyro gas), carbon black, and steel.

Experts say that the common environmental issues associated with pyrolysis units include spillage of carbon in working area, exposure of workers to fine carbon particles that impact the respiratory system, being prone to high fugitive emissions, poor energy efficiency, spillage and floor washing containing charcoal particle and oil. The existing rules aim to ensure that units align to processes that prevent these issues.

An article in The Guardian earlier this year highlighted that every month, thousands of tonnes of used tyres leave ports to India. There they are baked in pyrolysis plants, to make a dirty industrial fuel. Pointing out that while some of these plants meet Indian regulations, the article states that hundreds were pouring toxins into the air. When tyre pyrolysis is done badly, it can produce a hideous mix: heavy metals, benzene, dioxins, furans and other persistent organic chemicals, some of which are highly carcinogenic. Videos of tyre pyrolysis in India show black smoke leaking from the baking chamber, and workers in T-shirts, without masks or other protective equipment, cleaning tarry residues out of the pipes and flasks.

In a report dated July 31, the CPCB had said there are 637 tyre pyrolysis units in 19 States in India. “Of 637 tyre pyrolysis units, 251 are complying, 270 are not complying and 116 are closed. In most cases, it was observed that the reason for non-compliance is not meeting the criteria of Standard Operating Procedure [SOP] of the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the consent conditions issued by the State Pollution Control Boards,” the report said.

Telangana seems to be on the way to become the biggest dumping ground in the country for local and imported waste tyres. According to official figures, the State has the highest number of tyre pyrolysis units in the country, and all of them are in violation of environmental norms.

According to the report submitted to the NGT by the CPCB, Telangana has 88 pyrolysis units, of which 61 are operational at present. However, as per the Telangana State Pollution Control Board’s own admission, all the 61 are non-compliant to various environmental norms.

The report states that there are a total of 270 non-compliant pyrolysis units in the country. As per country-wide figures, Telangana has the second-highest number of pyrolysis units, after Uttar Pradesh (117). However, only 79 of these 117 units in UP are operational at the moment. Out of this, as many as 72 are compliant to the environmental norms.