The Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (Redisa) has been placed under liquidation to safeguard the operations and assets associated with the programme.
Environmental Affairs Minister Dr Edna Molewa filed an urgent application for the liquidation at the Cape Town High Court last week, after becoming aware of Redisa’s intention to cease the collection of waste tyres.
The court ordered the appointment of a liquidator to take immediate control of Redisa, including the implementation of the approved Integrated Industry Waste Tyre Management Plan (IIWTMP).
A policy decision to change the funding model, which would affect the funding of the Redisa IIWTMP, was approved by Cabinet. The policy review justified changes intended to align the funding model with the scope and ambit of the existing public finance management system.
The decision then resulted in the National Environmental Management: Waste Amendment Act being passed by Parliament to enable the implementation of both the revenue collection in terms of the Customs and Excise Act as amended and the National Pricing Strategy.
The Department of Environmental Affairs said Redisa had been aware of the requirements of the new legislation, but had failed to comply with such requirements, even after numerous requests by the department.
Recycling facility SA Tyre Recyclers manager Carlo van Eck told Engineering News Online it was unclear how the disbandment of Redisa would affect the tyre recycling industry at this point.
He explained that Redisa rented SA Tyre Recyclers’ depot in Atlantis, which could hold financial implications. “However, it seems that operations at the depot will continue as normal. The challenges will only be evident when the tyres that would have come through Redisa, do not materialise,” he noted.