Even in Sardinia, the discomfort and discontent of tyre dealers and car repairers is growing due to the failure to collect PFU, or end-of-life tyres, which now occupy company yards, "a haven for rodents and insects and, if not properly disposed of or recycled, can cause very serious damage to the environment".
The complaint comes from Confartigianato , which also underlines the "significant economic damage to tire replacement and maintenance activities which can be subject to administrative and criminal sanctions for exceeding the quantities permitted in temporary storage."
"Wheel replacement and maintenance companies," says Giacomo Meloni, President of Confartigianato Imprese Sardegna, "find themselves literally overwhelmed by waste materials and, among other things, risk heavy fines from regulatory authorities."
"This is an explosive situation that has been going on for several months, if not years, and is creating intolerable inconveniences. We have repeatedly reported this," Meloni continues. " Although companies regularly pay the necessary disposal fee on new tire purchases, used tires are collected too frequently to fully process the accumulated waste that companies would like to see removed promptly. Used tires are classified as special waste and, as such, require appropriate treatment."
For this reason, Confartigianato wrote to the Ministry of the Environment, sending a letter to Luca Proietti, Director General of Circular Economy and Remediation, to highlight the situation facing auto repair companies dealing with the collection of end-of-life tires.
In the letter to the Ministry, the Association urges the Ministry to "activate a new additional target for ELT collection, as a priority measure of immediate support to alleviate the operational difficulties of our businesses."
This intervention, however, must be "accompanied by structural measures, including legislative ones, aimed at streamlining the entire tire management and collection system, with a view to transparency, traceability, and legality that will ensure its economic sustainability." Among the solutions suggested by Confartigianato are the implementation of the National Register of Tyre Manufacturers and Importers established by the Ministry, with
