Tyre recyclers: ‘UK export verification system is failing’

The Tyre Recovery Association has warned that the UK’s new enhanced verification system for waste tyre exports is failing. According to the organisation, government data confirms compliance rates are below 25%.

Writing to the Minister for Waste and Recycling, Mary Creagh, the TRA praised the minister for the action she instigated last year after it had been demonstrated that enforcement activity on end-of-life-tyre (ELT) exports was deficient. Illegally imported waste tyres from Britain were acknowledged to be a core source for highly polluting batch pyrolysis plants in India.

However, new data revealed in answer to Parliamentary questions show that the ‘overwhelming’ majority of tyre export consignments still fail to meet basic environmental tracking requirements, claims TRA.

Majority ‘undocumented‘

According to a written Parliamentary response from the minister on 12 February, 3 281 Annex VII documents have been authorised for tyre exports since October 2025. But of the 1 891 consignments that passed their eight-week reporting deadline, 1 370 failed to return any post-shipment information.

‘Of the number that did respond, only 458 met the required standards,’ says TRA. ‘This means more than 75% of recent whole ELT exports continue to be undocumented.’

Further details highlight a lack of activity to bring brokers and receiving sites into compliance with the requirements, according to the industry body. ‘There is no evidence that the Environment Agency has removed receiving sites which have not complied with the requirements from the approved list.’

Meanwhile further information is required to understand if brokers who have failed to provide the necessary post-shipment documentation are being issued with stop notices by the Environment Agency until they comply.

Australian model 

The TRA is urging the UK to replicate legislative success seen in Australia, which banned the export of whole and baled ELTs in December 2021. Under the Australian model, tyres must be processed into shred or crumb of no more than 150mm before they can be exported.

‘Introducing this model to the UK would provide the regulatory certainty to enable the expansion of domestic ELT reprocessing operations by unlocking multi-million investment in UK processing, leading to the expansion of secondary industries and ending the dumping of environmental waste overseas.’

TRA says that currently there are at least 150 000 tonnes of idle domestic recycling capacity in the UK, ‘capacity that is not engaged because of the ongoing flaws in enforcement’.