Skip to content

The Waste Act guides recycling

As a producer organisation, we ensure that our members meet their statutory targets easily and efficiently. In Finland, the tyre recovery rate has exceeded the target for many years.

Tyre recycling in Finland is governed by the Waste Act(you switch to another service, opens in a new window) (17 June 2011/646) and the related Government Decree(you switch to another service, opens in a new window) (527/2013) on the separate collection and recovery of end-of-life tyres. In 1996, the same year that tyre collection operations began, the Finnish Government issued its first decree on the recovery and treatment of end-of-life tyres. The legislation has since been specified and developed further.

The tyre producer must ensure that each year, at least 95 per cent of the quantity of tyres corresponding to the amount they have placed on the market is prepared for reuse, recycled or otherwise recovered.

A tyre distributor must accept end-of-life tyres free of charge at the point of sale if the tyres correspond in type and quantity to the new tyres purchased by the customer. The point of sale must also inform consumers about the possibility of returning tyres.

The latest version of the Waste Act is the 2021 version, which was most recently supplemented in 2025. Legislation is continuously developed as the circular economy advances and the opportunities for material recovery become more diverse.

The Decree on tyres applies to

  • tyres for motor-powered and other vehicles or equipment, where the producer is considered to be the manufacturer, importer or retreader of such a tyre, or the importer of a vehicle or device fitted with tyres
  • under the law, these producers must arrange the separate collection and recovery of end-of-life tyres 
  • the law requires that each year, at least 95 per cent by weight of the quantity of tyres corresponding to the amount placed on the market must be prepared for reuse, recycled or otherwise recovered
  • As a producer organisation, we ensure that our members meet their statutory targets easily and efficiently. In Finland, the recovery rate has exceeded the target for many years.