The act about entrepreneurs’ duties in waste management was introduced in Poland on May 11th 2001 and was one of the first in Europe. It was the base for practical applying Extended Responsibility of Producers rule in Poland.
Centrum Utylizacji Opon Organizacja Odzysku S.A. (CUO) was established in 2002 on initiative of the biggest tyre manufacturers in Poland in order to fulfill requirements of this act. Our shareholders: Bridgestone, Continental, Dębica, GoodYear, Michelin and Pirelli, carry out their obligations and at the same time strongly support protection of environment. One of the Company’s main achievements is elimination of the problem of illegal landfills. With respect to ecology, CUO performs a key role in solving the problem of rubber waste disposal in Poland. Besides, the Company is involved in educational programs, which aim, first of all, is drawing attention of Polish youth to problems of waste disposal, in particular – disposal of end-of-life tyres (ELT).

Centrum Utylizacji Opon Organizacja Odzysku S.A. is the biggest company in Poland solving the problem of collection, transport and recovery of end-of-life tyres. The Company currently controls about 65% of the domestic market, recovering more than 85.000 tons of ELTs per year. Our activities cover whole territory of Poland. The Company collects end-of-life tyres through its logistic network from the tyre exchange points, garages, car dismantlers, municipalities or private persons. Collected ELTs are segregated by types and delivered to recovery points such as cement kilns, power plants and recyclers, where they are burnt for energy recovery or shredded and converted into a new products.
CUO is a representative of Poland in European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA).