Ban on Import of Waste Tyres,
Only Recycling Allowed
Hazardous
& Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016
·
Notified by MoEF&CC
under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
·
Objective: Safe storage, treatment, and disposal
of hazardous/other wastes.
·
Imports:
o
Permitted only for recycling, recovery, reuse,
and utilization (including co-processing).
o
Not permitted for disposal in
India.
o
Allowed only for actual users, with
permission from MoEF&CC and DGFT license.
o
Waste tyres fall under Schedule III, Part
B – allowed for recycling/recovery into products such as:
§ Reclaim
rubber
§ Crumb
rubber
§ Crumb
rubber modified bitumen
§ Recovered
carbon black
Waste
Tyre Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), 2022
·
Introduced through amendment to HOWM Rules, 2016.
·
Key provisions:
o
Import of waste tyres for pyrolysis oil/char is
prohibited.
o
Imported waste tyres must be used only for
recycling/recovery into permissible products (not tyre pyrolysis oil).
o
EPR Portal (by CPCB): Tracks
and ensures compliance so that waste tyres are not diverted to pyrolysis oil
production.
CPCB SOP
on Tyre Pyrolysis Units (2025 Update)
·
Revised SOP issued in Jan 2025 for
“Recycling of Waste Tyre Scrap for recovery of Tyre Pyrolysis Oil, Pyro Gas,
and Char.”
·
Objective: Improve environmental performance
of Tyre Pyrolysis Oil (TPO) units.
·
Circulated to SPCBs/PCCs for immediate
implementation.
·
Available on CPCB website.
Big picture: India permits waste tyre
imports strictly for recycling/recovery into eco-friendly products, while prohibiting
use for pyrolysis oil, in line with its EPR framework. The 2025
SOP further tightens controls to ensure TPO units operate sustainably.
Ministry
of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC)
has notified the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary
Movement) (HOWM) Rules, 2016 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, to
ensure safe storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous and other wastes in an
environmentally sound manner.
The
HOWM Rules, 2016 also allow import of the hazardous and other wastes listed in
Part A and Part B of Schedule III for recycling, recovery, reuse and
utilization including co-processing. Import of hazardous and other wastes is
not permitted for disposal in the country. The import of hazardous and other
wastes listed in Part A and Part B of Schedule III of the said Rules is allowed
only to actual users with due permission from the MoEF&CC
and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade license, as applicable. The Waste
pneumatic and other tyres falls under Schedule III
Part B of the said rules and allowed for import by actual user for
recycling/recovery purposes to get end product such as reclaim rubber, crumb
rubber, crumb rubber modified bitumen and recovered carbon black.
MoEF&CC has notified the ‘Extended Producer
Responsibility (EPR) for Waste Tyre’ in July, 2022, through amendment in
Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016
to ensure environmentally sound management of waste tyres. As per the Waste
Tyre EPR notification, import of waste tyre for producing pyrolysis oil or char
is prohibited. The rules have provision to ensure that the imported
waste tyre is used by the actual user for recycling/recovery purposes to get
end products other than Tyre Pyrolysis Oil. Also, Waste Tyre EPR Portal
developed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) under the said rules,
ensures that imported waste tyre is not used for the production of tyre
pyrolysis oil.
CPCB
has revised the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) with respect to ‘Recycling
of Waste Tyre Scrap for the recovery of Tyre Pyrolysis Oil, Pyro Gas and Char
in Tyre Pyrolysis Oil (TPO) Units’ in January, 2025. The SOP has focussed on
improvement of environmental performance of TPO Units across the country. The
revised guidelines have been circulated to all the State Pollution Control
Boards (SPCBs)/Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) for the immediate
implementation and are also available at CPCB’s website.
This
information was provided by UNION MINISTER OF STATE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND
CLIMATE CHANGE, KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH, in a written reply to a question in Rajya
Sabha on 21 August, 2025.