A press release was made by the Kocaeli Academic Chambers Union regarding the draft law on energy production from waste tires.
Before the press release, TMMOB Kocaeli Provincial Coordination Board Secretary Murat Kürekci was informed about the issue, and the press release was sözcüIt was read by Ömer Ardaman, head of Kocaeli Medical Chamber.
Energy use is a necessity of the modern age and an indispensable human right. Essentially, starting from the utilization of renewable and clean energy resources, all of which are the common property of society; In all stages of the process, from production, transmission, distribution and sales, the environment, nature and community benefit should be considered as a priority. This criterion should apply to all energy related activities. Providing energy to all consumers in an adequate, quality, continuous, low cost and reliable manner should be the basic energy policy. This understanding and approach reveals the necessity of meeting the energy needs as a public service.
However, as a result of the capitalist energy policies that do not prioritize people and the environment, the fact that energy use is an indispensable human right has been ignored; energy and electricity supply, which is a public service, has been transformed into a market activity. With the unlimited growth trend of the capital accumulation regime, the energy sector was ceased to be a public sphere, it was surrendered to the profit sovereignty of private monopolies, and an economic structure based on fossil resources and high carbon emission emerged. In this structure; Due to the fossil fuel-based policies of monopolies, greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming have become a threat to the world. Another consequence of these policies is that energy poverty and deprivation have reached an unbearable level. This structure and current situation is at an unsustainable point.
With the Law Proposal on the Amendment of the Electricity Market Law and Some Laws consisting of 2 articles in the TBMM's Base Number 3116/46; It is aimed to make arrangements for the needs of public institutions and organizations operating in the mining, natural gas and electricity sector and private sector investors in their fields of activity.
Mine exploration and operation tenders, which have been increasing in recent years, are transformed into millions of hectares of forest, pasture, agricultural land, mine exploration and operation areas, this time with the covit-19 pandemic conditions, almost all of our country, and the destruction of our natural values continues without borders.
Some existing obstacles to exploration of cyanide minerals were also removed and this bag law proposal, which was brought to the agenda of the Turkish Grand National Assembly this time after the mining tenders, will carry End-of-Life Tires (ELT) and dirty technologies, such as Plastic Wastes, in accordance with the Environmental Policies of the European Union. It is intended to be legalized, where it will be stored, and that our country lands as a whole will be destroyed.
New decisions that increase rather than eliminate the negative effects of air and environmental pollution on human and social life continue to be taken. There are news in the press that electricity will be produced by burning vehicle tires in Kocaeli, Düzce and Erzincan provinces. In fact, there are facilities that have been producing for years in the aforementioned regions. In fact, by defining ELVs that do not have biological bonds as biomass, the facilities are tried to be defined as enterprises that benefit from the Renewable Energy Resources Support Mechanism (YEKDEM). refers to animal and vegetable products used to obtain fiber, heat and chemicals. Biomass also includes organic waste that can be burned as a fuel. On the other hand, it does not contain fossilized and geographically altered organic materials such as coal and petroleum. New products or by-products obtained from waste tires as a result of various processes cannot be defined as biomass.
We do not know whether the EIA reports of these facilities producing under current conditions and the opinions of the relevant public institutions, the Electricity Generation Licenses by EMRA, the Workplace Opening and Working Licenses issued by the Municipality, and there are serious doubts about the existence of electricity generation. The legality of existing facilities in Kocaeli, Düzce and Erzincan is under serious doubt, since the said law proposal includes the issue of "electricity production from tires".
According to LASDER (Tire Industrialists Association), whose duties include collecting and recycling used tires, approximately 180.000 tons of ELT is generated each year in our country. In some studies, it is stated that this amount is 220.000 tons. Various ways are followed for the recovery, disposal or storage of these tires. Among these methods, there are methods such as obtaining rubber sheet by granulating, recovering its components (carbon black, pyrolytic oil, rubber, etc.) by pyrolysis method and reuse in industry. In addition to these, its use as fuel in cement factories is among the operations performed. On average, the vehicle consists of 47% rubber, 21,5% carbon black, 16,5% metal, the remainder additives (7.5%), textile fiber (5.5%), zinc oxide and consists of sulfur. However, with the burning of the tires, carbon black, volatile organics, semi-volatile organics, a lot of halkalı hydrocarbons, oils, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, nitrosamines, carbon oxides, volatile particles and As, Cd, Cr, Pb, Zn, Fe etc. metals such as spread. Therefore, first of all, it is necessary to reduce the consumption amount of tires and to ensure the maximum recycling of those that have completed their life. Waste that cannot be recovered by any process should be incinerated in facilities that are far from residential areas and have modern emission control systems.
In any case, such a facility should never be established in a city like our city, where cancer cases are higher than the country average, chronic respiratory diseases are common and which is saturated with industry! In the Kocaeli reality, it should be considered that the cumulative effect will be higher with the release of these substances to the already existing polluted air.
Based on the fact that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes in investments are not sufficient alone and that every environmental impact will actually affect the entire living system, reporting the "Health Impact Assessment" processes, which we can call HIA, and presenting them to the opinions of the relevant institutions is a necessity of respect for "living life". Before the profit ambition of the capital, it is our primary demand to make legal regulations to defend the lives of human and other living things.
The tire contains a large amount of sulfur and carbon in its content. As a result of burning the tire directly without any recycling process, high levels of CO2 (carbon dioxide) and SO2 (sulfur dioxide) will be released in the chimney gases. Both gases are extremely harmful components in terms of environment and human health. It should not be forgotten that CO2 is the leading greenhouse gas that causes global warming. While the whole world is trying to reduce carbon emissions and follow its carbon footprints, it is illogical to try to use a fuel that will have such a negative impact for energy generation. While it is forbidden to burn certain quality fuel oils due to the high sulfur content it contains, it is a separate contradiction in itself to allow the burning of high sulfur containing tires.
Again, in the rubber industry, more than half of the total rubber consumption is met from the vehicle tire industry. For this reason, the most recycled rubber product is among vehicle tires.
While it is not possible to use ELVs other than recycling in EU member countries, trying to enact this law, which allows tires to be an energy production tool in our country, shows the level of insensitivity to human health and clean environment.
Regarding the recycling of tires, it should be ensured that the public benefit is primarily established, continuously audited and operated effectively by obtaining the opinions of the relevant professional organizations and providing technical support. Businesses that are not properly designed and lacking supervision should not be implemented.
Such an approach, in which human life and health, air and environmental pollution are improved from being decisive, is never acceptable. While renewable energy sources such as solar and wind stand still, regulations must be made and prioritized for them, the understanding of “energy generation by burning tires” which is certain to create vital problems in the medium and long term is not a method we can accept. The risks to human life caused by vehicle exhaust emissions and the air, water and soil pollution created by the industry have long been ignored; While the reality of Dilovasi, whose name is on the death plain and deaths from cancer are almost not even taken to the mouth, it is almost wanted to remove Kocaeli from sight; it is being transformed into an uncontrolled city.
In addition, as a result of unplanned practices, there has been an excess of electricity production in the country, as a result, some power plants have stopped or shut down and some of them have been sold abroad, "tire burning and energy production", which will be a serious risk for living life, should not even be one of the last energy generation methods to be considered. .
We are also concerned about our country turning into an ELT garbage dump. Obtaining ELT for such facilities from abroad should also be prohibited.
The rejection of this law amendment, where the buyer of the electricity produced is the state and there is no buyer problem, together with a significant part of the amendments envisaged by the bag law, is the demand of not only Kocaeli people but also 83 million people.
Public health and a clean environment should not be wasted for the sake of profit.
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