The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has shut four tire recycling factories in Riyadh, Jeddah and Khamis Mushayt (Saudi Arabia) for violating quality and safety regulations, Arab News reports.

Inspectors from the ministry and the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) conducted the inspections. Eight factories were warned to improve their processes in six months to avoid closure.

The teams inspected 17 tire recycling factories in six cities and found that the end-of-life tires used for recycling were unfit for this purpose. The factories lacked the required machinery, technically qualified workers and a performance checking system.

The inspectors closed the four factories after having laboratory tests conducted on the finished products of these establishments.

The factories that were granted six months to overhaul their production processes were found not to have kept any record of the tires used for recycling and did not follow warehousing regulations.

If these factories do not abide by the regulations, they would be charged with commercial fraud and their products seized, the ministry warned. It said the inspectors would continue raiding these factories and having their products tested. Licensing would be linked to their commitment to standard specifications and warehousing regulations.

Article by Arab News.