Despite protests from the German tyre trade that there is no waste tyre issue in Germany, the news reports on environmental crime suggest otherwise.
In one week in March Tyre and Rubber Recycling picked, without any trouble, four news items about illegal tyre dumping in Germany. The volumes may be low, but the frequency is high.
In November 2017, for example, a large number of used tyres were dumped in the Hillscheid district on the dirt road. This was repeated at the same place on Tuesday, March 6th. In the current case, there were about 50 used tyres. In addition, recently in the Ebernhahn district another 50 used tyres were disposed of illegally. The volumes suggest that these tyres arise from the commercial sector.
In Morstad, walkers alerted the authorities to tyres dumped in the Reifental district near the Wormser Landfill.
On or around the night of 05. to 06. In March 2018 about 50 used tyres were illegally disposed of on a dirt road near Ochtendung-Plaidt. The tyres, which are primarily car tyres, were deposited on a dirt road at the landfill “Eiterköpfe”.
In the town of Trassem another 20 old tyres were dumped at the premises of a local construction company.
This represents reports over just seven days, and only those reported in the media. This pattern is repeated on a regular basis across Germany. No part of the country seems immune to this ongoing low-level tyre dumping.
The Tyre Recycling seminars at “The Tire” in Cologne, will include a seminar from Germany’s new tyre recycling association, ZARE, where there is sure to be some discussion about why there is this problem and how the german industry can deal with it.