Farmers could be facing a mandatory tyre recycling fee of up to €20 per tractor tyre if the recommendations proposed by the Environment Minister Alan Kelly come into force.

The Minister has appointed Repak Ireland as the sole recycling co-ordinating company as part of a Producer Responsibility Initiative (PRI).

The tractor tyre market in Ireland could be as sizeable as 45,000 units per year, according to the Irish Tyre Industry Association (ITIA). The new levy could mean an additional cost of close to €1m on Irish farmers and farm contractors.

Harold Kingston, IFA environment chairman, said that measures are needed to tackle the scourge of tyre dumping in rural Ireland, but we cannot allow this to impose extra costs on farm businesses.

IFA will be meeting with the Department for the Environment in coming weeks to tackle this issue, he said.

The companies in the tyre industry are at war with the Minister on his new proposal. They claim that the exorbitant fees to be levied by Repak Ireland will be based on the fact that the cost of recycling a car tyre has already been fixed by the Minister at €2.80 per tyre, plus VAT.

The recycling fees are to be front loaded, meaning that the suppliers will have to pay the fee before they sell the tyres.

Both the Irish Tyre Industry Association (ITIA) and the Independent Tyre Wholesalers and Retailers Association (ITWRA) have withdrawn from the working group set up by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government on the issue.

The Minister’s statement in September says that despite the withdrawal of the industry, he will continue to work on the introduction of the new scheme in Ireland.

There are no plans for a similar recycling fee in Northern Ireland and there is concern among the tyre trade that this will force more business across the border.

The industry also claims that without adequate provision for enforcement, the new gap in levy between North and South will result in a significant black market economy in tyres of all sizes.