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Act now on UK end-of-life tyres, recyclers urge

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British recyclers have issued a strong criticism of their Government’s policy on the treatment and export of end-of-life tyres (ELTs).

They say that while recycling capacity lies idle in the UK, hundreds of thousands of tonnes of ELTs are sent abroad to major markets such as India with inadequate scrutiny by the regulatory authorities.

According to the national Tyre Recyclers’ Association (TRA): ‘Responsible British operators have been increasingly frustrated and concerned that Britain’s rules are not being updated and change is not coming fast enough. Rogue operators continue to flourish while domestic capacity is underused.’

Five-point manifesto

To mark the current general election in Britain, the TRA has issued a manifesto with a five-point call for action from the policy makers immediately after the election on 4 July.

They are:

  • Properly police export documentation
  • Incentivise public procurement, particularly those for local authorities. Specifically advance the use of rubberised asphalt as a sustainable, economic long solution to Britain’s pothole problem
  • Act on a six-year-old commitment to end exemptions being exploited by irresponsible tyre traders
  • Ban most whole ELT exports and change export rules to ‘shred only’
  • Update the UK’s waste shipment regulations to bring them into line with the European Union’s new rules

Urgency

TRA secretary general Peter Taylor insists a ‘clear and necessary’ agenda is urgently needed.

‘Despite the clear benefits and significant opportunities for the UK to reduce its carbon footprint, addressing environmental damage and grow its circular economy, the UK needs much stronger policy support to empower the responsible operators, strengthen domestic resilience and cut the level of export,’ he says.

At the end of 2023, a report from India’s Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association stated that approximately 800 000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres were imported into the country between April and November 2023. The UK and EU member nations were the primary contributors.

Official UK data reveals that around 300 000 tonnes of ELTs are exported from the UK per annum, yet the TRA says UK has at least 150 000 tonnes of licensed capacity lying idle. It claims that 10-15% of India’s imported ELTs are sold as replacement tyres, with many more going to outdated highly polluting batch-pyrolysis.

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