Latvia offers free old-tyre collection in November, yet over 70% of collected tyres go abroad
Free collection of used tyres, the “Dod riepām otru dzīvi” campaign, is under way across Latvia in November. According to the State Environmental Service, 72.4% of tyres collected last year ended up abroad, while new recycling plants are being developed.
This month Latvia is running the environmental campaign “Dod riepām otru dzīvi” (“Give Tyres a Second Life”), in which residents can hand in used passenger-car tyres free of charge at 41 collection points. The campaign is organised for the ninth year by the joint-stock company “AJ Power Recycling” together with SIA “3R”, regional waste management companies and municipalities. It is held twice a year, during the spring and autumn tyre-change seasons. Data show that most collected tyres are shipped out of the country, although a new recycling plant could start operating next year.
How to hand in tyres
A driver can usually drop off four passenger-car tyres without rims for free. At sites run by the North Vidzeme waste management organisation, up to eight tyres are accepted in November. In some places the free option applies only to residents of a particular municipality, elsewhere there is a limit on quantity, and outside the campaigns accepting tyres may cost money. In Sigulda municipality, the company “Jumis”, together with Latvijas Zaļais punkts, is accepting tyres in Inčukalns from 17 to 21 November and in Sigulda from 24 November to 19 December.
In Jelgava, in a campaign held in early November by SIA “Zemgales EKO” with SIA “Corvus Company”, tyres were taken from 390 cars on the first day, with more than 1,600 tyres collected. Outside the campaign, one tyre costs between €1.90 and €2.70 at these sites.
Where the tyres end up
State Environmental Service data show that 14,031.54 tonnes of tyres were collected in Latvia last year, about 83% of the amount placed on the market. In Latvia, 3,872 tonnes (27.6%) were recycled or recovered, 2,133 tonnes (15.2%) in other EU countries and 8,027 tonnes (57.2%) outside the EU. In total, about 10,159 tonnes, or 72.4%, went abroad.
Some tyres are used as an alternative fuel in cement production; for example, the “Schwenk Latvija” plant in Brocēni used about 8,000 tonnes in 2023.
Planned plants
SIA “3R” has had its project approved by the Central Finance and Contracting Agency, and the new plant is expected to start operating next year. The company “Innoteh” plans a pyrolysis facility in Naujene parish with a capacity of up to 2,300 tonnes a year. Earlier plants in Tukums and Jaunjelgava have been closed.
