Page 40 - Retreading Business N104 2023-1
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INTERVIEWCHILE Eduardo Acosta, speaking at a recent event in Chile RETREADING BUSINESS You must be delighted at the implementation of the Chilean EPR law. Something funda- mental has been started, correct? EDUARDO ACOSTA There is no debt that is not paid, no deadline that is not met, as our parents used to say. Well, the deadlines for the entry into force of the obligations for the collection and reco- very of tyres have been met. RB How have you been able to engage with the main actors of the Law? EA Producers (Importers) have been working hard to organise and obtain the approvals re- quired by the authority to put in place the co- llective and individual management systems that will allow compliance with the collection and valorisation (recovery) targets. Some producers have been more passive and have waited in the distance for the evolution of the management systems. Unfortunately, ano- ther group of producers have remained on the side-lines, without making any progress before the end of the deadlines. RB Are there any actors that have caught your EA The requirement of Customs, starting this month, of a declaration in which the Produ- cer (Importer) must specify the Management System to which it is subscribed, has been the trigger that has reminded people of the obli- gations that fall on them within the EPR mo- del. The concern and need to comply with the legal requirements, in addition to the penal- ties implied by non-compliance, is causing an effervescence that will undoubtedly help the involvement of all players in this State policy. RB After so many years working on this, what did ARNEC achieve with regards to the law? EA In the Chilean Association of Tire Retreading and Renovation, ARNEC, we have been wor- king for many years for this moment. The EPR Law established that the activities of Prepa- ration for Reuse, together with Material and Energy Recovery, are considered Valorisa- tion (recovery). Therefore, retreading, which prepares tyres for reuse by replacing what has been used up, is virtuous from the point of view of the hierarchy of waste treatment, sin- ce it reduces waste and delays its generation. It goes without saying that, from the point of view of the Circular and Environmental Eco- nomy, retreading takes care of and preserves resources. P.40
