Old tires and batteries to traders on freight

Car tire dealers, who collect old tires from customers for a fee, will not be able to do so from April next year. Otherwise, it will be a violation of the Law on Waste Management.

This was told to “Vijesta” by the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Development of the North. From the department, which is headed by Damjan Ćulafić, they said that according to their knowledge, none of the citizens who do not want to keep old car tires charge for the collection service.

However, “Vijesti” is on the ground to learn that at least one seller whose company is registered on the territory of Podgorica charges two euros per tire for such a service. That amount was also shown on the invoice, which was issued at the beginning of September, when new ones were purchased from that dealer, and for the “deposit of passenger waste tires” an amount of two euros per tire was charged.

In an unofficial conversation with the merchant in this regard, it was said that they have an obligation to pay the state, and that accordingly, they also charge the customers. If the buyer does not want to pay that amount, the dealer’s recommendation was to take the tires to one of the recycling yards.

The Law on Waste Management was adopted on April 12, 2024, and entered into force eight days later. According to Article 14 of the Law, “the manufacturer (importer) who places on the Montenegrin market electrical and electronic equipment, vehicles, batteries and accumulators, tires, packaging, single-use plastic products and fishing gear containing plastic, is obliged to establish an extended liability program manufacturer”.

“Also according to Article 14 paragraph 2 ‘The manufacturer (importer) is obliged to: 1) keep and keep records on the quantities of manufactured or imported products, that is, the equipment in which these products are installed; 2) accepts returned products or waste left after using those products free of charge; 3) subsequently manages the waste from point 2 of this paragraph and assumes financial responsibility for those activities… From the above it is clear that the manufacturer/importer is obliged to take over, collect and process tires free of charge”, they state, among other things, in the answer ” News”.

Such an obligation, according to Article 57 of the same Law, which describes the obligations in terms of managing tires as waste, among other things, it is prohibited to mix waste tires with other waste, it is also prohibited to burn waste tires, and “the holder of a waste tire is obliged to hand over the waste tire to the places designated for this type of waste within the system of collection, collection and processing of waste tires”.

In the same article, the law stipulates the obligations of the manufacturer and the authorized representative of the tire manufacturer and states that they are obliged to organize the system of collection, collection and processing of waste tires, which also includes the obligation to undertake free of charge, one year after the entry into force of the law, i.e. from April 20, 2025. . year.

For legal entities that do not join the organized system of taking over, collecting and processing waste tires within the legal deadline, fines for misdemeanors in the amount of one thousand to 20 thousand euros are foreseen.

Improper disposal of waste tires is a perennial problem in Montenegro. This has been repeatedly pointed out by the civil sector, and in April, the NGO Green Home organized a conference on the topic of waste tire management. In addition to other things, they said then that they are already stored all over Montenegro, in meadows, fields, river valleys, and other locations, but also in landfills and that they “represent a very big threat to the environment and people’s health in the event of their burning.” .

The Department of Ecology and Sustainable Development once again noted that the obligation of producers, i.e. importers to collect waste from citizens without compensation, applies to all producers, i.e. importers who, apart from rubber, put electrical and electronic equipment, vehicles, batteries on the Montenegrin market and batteries, packaging, single-use plastic products and fishing gear containing plastic.

Bags can “cost” up to 40,000 euros

The Law on Waste Management prohibits the use of plastic bags and single-use plastics from October 20. Control of compliance with those provisions is the responsibility of the market inspection. Penalties in case of violation of the law range from one thousand to 40,000 euros.

The use of light plastic carrier bags with a wall thickness of 15 to 50 microns is completely prohibited at the point of sale of goods or products, the use of bags with a wall thickness of up to 15 microns is allowed, while for those over 50 microns, the seller pays a fee of 0.03 cents per bag.

According to the Law, the funds from this fee are paid into the account of the Environmental Protection Fund and can only be used for financing and co-financing of awareness-raising activities and providing information to the public and campaigns for the harmfulness of the use of plastic bags on the environment.

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