The Tyre Industry Federation Responsible Recycler Scheme

The TIF Responsible Recycler Scheme - A uniquely successful industry initiative

Each year Britain discards almost 50 million old tyres which all need to be reprocessed or recycled. To handle all of these tyres efficiently and responsibly we have created a unique industry partnership. 

The Scheme was first launched under the banner of the Tyre Industry Council in 1999 with the support of the tyre manufacturers associations, BTMA and ITMA. Its intention was to improve the image of used tyre management by introducing new standards of best practice in which everyone, public, government and the wider tyre industry could have confidence. It has more than met this early expectation.

Initially open to just tyre collectors the scheme quickly moved to embrace tyre recyclers and reprocessors in recognition of their common interests and in acknowledgement of the important role they would all have in helping tyre manufacturers, retailers and indeed Government itself meet the EU Landfill Directive. (The Landfill Directive which came into full effect in July 2006 requires that virtually all end of life tyres be recycled or re-used in some new way). Those leading the scheme realised at an early stage that whether or not concepts of producer responsibility were to be into the UK in support of the Directive the adoption of best practice concepts was essential in order to fully meet the challenges ahead.

Transparency, traceability and accountability are cornerstones of the TIF scheme. Responsible retailers, fleet companies and other users of tyres who use Scheme Members are guaranteed that the tyres collected by members of the RRS are disposed of in an environmentally friendly and acceptable method, whether recycled or used as a fuel in cement kilns, helping them comply with their Duty of Care obligations as well as protecting the environment. As a guarantee, those who subscribe to the scheme are subject to a stringent annual audit process conducted regularly by independent environmental audit specialists.

As a measure of its success this unique 'Chartermark' scheme has attracted considerable international interest. Those companies who sign up to the scheme are awarded an annual certificate of compliance. In turn, tyre retailers and all those others they service are presented with their own certificate confirming to their customers that their own old tyres will be responsibly reprocessed.