Full information on regulations on the disposal of used tyres can be found on the website of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government – Environ.ie, from which the following information is taken: While waste tyres are not classified as hazardous they can cause environmental pollution if disposed of incorrectly or irresponsibly. An estimated 35,000 tonnes of waste tyres are generated in Ireland each year and there is a clear need to ensure that this waste stream is managed in an environmentally sound way rather than sending them to landfill sites. Regulations on the management of waste tyres came into force on 1 January 2008.
These Regulations seek to improve information gathering and the tracking of waste tyre flows in Ireland, identifying a clear audit trail for tyre collection and recycling. They impose obligations on all persons who supply tyres to the Irish market and on the collectors of waste tyres who are now required to prepare and present waste management plans and reports when submitting applications for registration and submit a report to the Environmental Protection Agency every year. They allow the comparison of the quantities of waste tyres arising with the quantities placed on the market and the tracking of the movement of waste tyres from the time they are discarded until they are either reused or processed for recycling and /or recovery. Provision has been made in the regulations to enable a farmer who requires waste tyres to anchor silage covering to store up to eight waste tyres for every square metre of the floor area of his or her silage pit, without the need to have a waste permit.