UK is ‘sleepwalking’ into a used tyre crisis, says industry group.
The Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) is warning that the UK’s tyre recycling industry is likely to face a collapse similar to the plastics sector.
Market pressures have led to a recent spate of UK plastic recycling plant shutdowns.
Plastics industry insiders have pointed to the lack of a level playing field leading to the closures – a core issue that also undermines the UK’s significant but underutilised used tyre processing capacity.
The TRA says the UK currently exports an estimated 1,000 tonnes of whole waste tyres every day, much of which is destined for uncontrolled and often illegal processing abroad.
With claims that legitimate used tyre processors face an increasingly hostile operating environment, the group is continuing calls for urgent government action to reform legislation.
This includes implementing a shred only policy for waste tyre exports, a successful policy already introduced in Australia. Defra’s announcement at the start of the summer to end the T8 exemption is a significant step forward, though yet to come into effect.
Following the Environment Agency’s publication of their inquiry waste tyre exports, the TRA has published the Road to Reform, a five-step plan that sets out straightforward measures to implement the inquiry’s findings.
It is also waiting to hear from the Environment Agency about its offer to provide further assistance as soon as possible. The Environment Agency said it is committed to working with industry stakeholders to introduce reforms.
Peter Taylor OBE, of the TRA, said: “The recent news of major plastics recycling plants closing is a canary in the coal mine for the wider UK recycling industry.
“As one of Biffa’s senior managers said, these sites are closing because there isn’t a level playing field. That is the same problem our sector faces. We are sleepwalking into a crisis where UK jobs and domestic capacity are sacrificed for the sake of cheap exports of our environmental problems.”
He continued: “Our ‘Road to Reform’ action plan, submitted to the Environment Agency, provides a clear, five-step path to enhance verification and better enforce existing regulations.
“We are keen to meet with them at the earliest opportunity to discuss the plan and see the overdue reforms come into effect. The technology is available right now to create a digital chain of custody that would ensure our waste is accounted for.
“The government must take the action the Waste Minster promised to stop the export of our environmental responsibilities. We must see that action before the same fate that has befallen the plastics industry hits our members.”
