New regulations to keep track of thousands of waste tyres were signed into law by Minister for Environment John Gormley.
The new rules will come into force on January 1st and will trace the movement of tyres between producers, retailers and waste tyre collectors.
Approximately three million tyres are sold in the Republic each year, and an estimated 35,000 tonnes of waste tyres are generated.
"We know that there are huge volumes of waste tyres out there, but we don't have a great take on just how many there are, and, more importantly, where they all end up," Mr Gormley said.
"It is time that we had a proper database on this waste stream, and I believe the new system . . . will effectively address that deficiency."
The Irish Tyre Industry Association will fund the operation of the Tyre Recovery Activity Compliance Scheme.