OESHCO plans to set up tyre recycling plant in Oman

By V L Srinivasan

Muscat, May 1 - Alarmed at the growing number of scrap tyres in the sultanate, the Oman Environmental Services Holdings Company (OESHCO) is planning to set up a tyre recycling plant in the country.

In response to OESHCO’s strategy to recycle tyres, several companies have expressed interest and one of them has already submitted a proposal to recycle the scrap tyres and export around 9,000 tonnes per year to other countries as raw material.

OESHCO has also invited other interested companies to submit their proposals. The location of the plant will be decided after conducting detailed feasibility studies and receiving feedback from the interested parties.

“We are considering more such companies to operate in different regions of the sultanate to process used tyres in a similar manner. These companies can also produce by-products from recycled tyres for local consumption and export the rest as raw material, or manufacture products locally for export,” Lt Col (Retd) Azhar Haroun al Kindi, chief executive, OESCHO, told Muscat Daily.

According to the statistics provided by OESHCO officials, the number of four wheeler tyres imported by Oman has shot up by 276 per cent between 2004 and 2008.

As against 95,468 tyres imported in 2004, it has gone up to 362,584 in 2008, and this is attributed to the rise in the number of registered cars in the sultanate, around 752,800 as of November 2009.

What is disturbing is that disposal of the used and worn out tyres in an eco-friendly manner is proving to be a major challenge for the OESHCO officials.

Established in August 2009 through a Royal Decree (No 46/2009), OESHCO is tasked with the implementation of the government’s policy with regard to the management and operation of the waste sector’s activities in accordance with national strategy. At present, about three million used tyres are stored in a landfill in the Dhofar region. If recycled, these worn-out tyres would yield approximately 40,000 tonnes of raw material.

“These materials could then be used to manufacture floor mats and carpet underlay, surface covers in health clubs, under road surface, landfill linings, road barriers, highway embankments and many other products,“ Kindi said.

Currently, used tyres are disposed of at designated landfills separated from other types of waste. Part of OESHCO’s strategy to tackle the used tyre issue will be to set up a treatment and recycle facility to dispose of these tyres along with public awareness programmes on ways to maintain and prolong the lifespan of tyres.

"If drivers are aware of how to maintain their tyres to prolong their life, the number of tyres discarded before the end of their lifespan would be significantly reduced. The average life span of a car tyre is about three years and with proper maintenance and usage, it could be longer."

Sharing the concern of OESHCO with regard to the growing number of used tyres, the Environment Society of Oman (ESO) said that scrap tyres were one of the largest and most problematic sources of waste worldwide due to the large volumes produced, their durability and their heavy metal content.

While the options of reusing and recycling are always available, the consumers ought to minimise the production of tyre waste by trying to increase their shelf life as much as possible, ESO official Nida Helou said.