Cape Town - The government was considering the introduction of a deposit system on tyres to prevent them from being burnt, which contributes towards environmental pollution, Mohammed Valli Moosa, the minister of environmental affairs and tourism, said on Friday.
Wrapping up debate in the national council of provinces on his 2003/04 budget, Moosa said a leading German investor had shown interest in setting up a tyre recycling plant in Gauteng.
"It's a very big problem," he said that sends thick palls of smoke billowing over cities and towns.
Unlike the ban on the use of thin plastic bags that litter the landscape, the government could not ban the use of tyres or insist they be of a certain thickness.
"So what we are thinking of doing this year is finding a way of adding value to used tyres ... because there is technology available for recycling," he said.
Moosa knew of attempts to import the sophisticated technology from Germany to a plant in Gauteng.
This could set up a whole new subindustry for unemployed people to collect abandoned tyres, very much as is being done with paper and plastics waste at present, and collect a deposit.
Moosa said although he respected the constitutional devolution of powers to the provinces for certain functions, he doubted whether the country could afford to have 10 parks boards (nine provincial and one national).
"Does it make sense for a province to spend enormous resources on provincial parks for very little gain?" he asked.
"A system that makes conservation compete for provincial funds with the glaring healthcare, education and social welfare needs without any obvious benefits like economic growth and job creation is not sustainable and will fail.
"A situation where the same taxpayer pays almost eight times more to maintain provincial parks compared with what he or she pays to maintain national parks is, frankly speaking, an unsustainable model for conservation. It is our view that conservation and economic development must go hand in hand," Moosa explained.