Acting Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Collins Chabane on Wednesday withdrew the approval for the Integrated Industry Waste Tyre Management Plan of the Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (Redisa) with immediate effect.

The Redisa plan was approved by notice in the Government Gazette published on November 28.

The Department of Environmental Affairs stated that the withdrawal would afford it an opportunity to attend to procedural requirements stipulated in the Waste Tyre Regulations (WTR) and allow the general public to engage and provide input into the plan.

“This will be helpful in ensuring that the plan caters to all aspects and requirements of the tyre industry, that way also gaining the needed support and play a role in rekindling the local recycling sector,” spokesperson Albi Modise told Engineering News Online.

Democratic Alliance water and environment spokesperson Gareth Morgan said last week that Minister Edna Molewa might have flouted sections of the WTR by failing to publish the plan in the Government Gazette for a period of 30 days or bring it to the attention of relevant organs of State and interested persons.

Under the Redisa plan, a levy of R2.30/kg would be introduced on new tyres manufactured in or imported into South Africa from February 1 to pay for the collection and recycling of waste tyres from illegal dumps and caches around the country and gather them at central depots from where disposal would be managed.

Redisa aims to establish a network of 150 collection depots, which would employ up to 15 000 people

Modise could not comment on possible legal action from the South African Tyre Recycling Process Company, whose tyre recycling plan was rejected by Molewa.