TRA calls on UK government to do the right thing, support British operators and end polluting export of end-of-life tyres

Britain must face up to the reality of its actions if it is to live up to His Majesty’s Government rhetoric, says the Tyre Recovery Association. The disruption caused by Houthi attacks on international shipping have lifted the veil many have been choosing to ignore, the UK is not building a circular economy but double dipping with unnecessary carbon leakage.

Latest figures reveal 250-300,000 tonnes of end-of-life tyre are exported from the UK per annum, yet the UK has at least 150,000 tonnes of idle domestic recycling capacity. Exported tyres are transported to market on carbon producing ocean tankers. According to the German statistics company, Statista, who looked at product tankers operating in the United Kingdom, ships end-of-life tyre exports are carried on produced the equivalent of 9.02 grams of CO2 per metric tonne of goods shipped per kilometre in 2023. With shipping now diverting via the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Red Sea the journey lengths are estimated to have almost doubled, increasing carbon emissions by one third.

Government figures on rubber export released earlier this month show that, having completed an unnecessary carbon producing journey, 75% of these ELT waste tyre exports end up being sold into the Indian sub-content. Much of these Indian tonnages are dealt with in a manner that is highly polluting, with the Indian authorities fighting an uphill battle to end the illegal and unethical distribution of ELT waste tyres for use on vehicles and the highly polluting practice of back street pyrolysis. The life of an average worker in one of these micro and illegal pyrolysis plants is estimated at seven years, demonstrating quite how noxious the by-products from burning are to both humans and the environment.

Peter Taylor OBE, Secretary General of the TRA, said:

“It beggars belief that the government continue to enable CO2 producing exports while UK capacity lies idle. The UK tyre industry welcomes the opportunities that come from the

circular economy advocated for by ministers, yet those same ministers appear incapable of pushing through the rule changes that make it work. Without much needed updating of UK regulations our nation will continue to double dip in unnecessary carbon production, first from the carbon created by ships loaded with ELTs for export and then those ELTs are unloaded into a market that is sadly rife with abuse.

“The TRA want to see responsible recycling at the heart of our industry, but the regulatory framework needed lags way behind.

“It is time our government does the right thing and stop the UK’s carbon leakage.”

Silverlake Automotive Recycling [Silverlake] has partnered with charity UK Sunflower Aid to send recycled vehicle first aid kits to Ukraine to help refugees affected by the war. The company is also supplying fuel for the charity’s vans before they set out on the long journey to the Ukraine border.

Silverlake recognised that the first aid kits in the 30,000+ salvage vehicles it processes p.a., at its automotive recycling site in Shedfield, could provide some valuable supplies to the aid effort.  Since May 2023, it has collected and shipped over 1,500 first aid kits from its Shedfield site and has fuelled over 10 UK Sunflower Aid vans over multiple trips.   

Paul Fullick of UK Sunflower Aid said: “We formed UK Sunflower Aid and started taking aid to Ukraine a week after Russia invaded Kiev; it seemed like the right thing to do. More than two years later we have moved almost 600 tons of humanitarian aid and medical supplies directly to the people and hospitals in Ukraine. The support we get from organisations like Silverlake is essential and helps us to deliver this life saving aid. Thank you to everyone at Silverlake who help keep the wheels moving, the people of Ukraine are extremely grateful.” 

Allen Prebble, MD at Silverlake said: “We know Paul from our sponsorship of the Silverlake C1 Racing Series. He is a racing driver with Team BRIT, a disability motorsport team that races in the Series.  When I heard what he was doing to support the people of Ukraine I knew Silverlake had to get involved.  Recycling vehicle first aid kits was a meaningful and valuable way we could help, as well as supplying tanks of fuel for the aid vans setting out for the Ukraine border.  UK Sunflower Aid has achieved so much and we are proud to be helping them to make a difference to those caught in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.”

Communities across Britain face environmental assault if UK authorities can’t stop illegal disposal of end-of-life tyres

Britain faces an environmental assault from the illegal disposal of end-of-life tyres as the impact of the Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping come home to roost. With 75% of the UK’s waste tyres heading to the Indian sub-continent via the Red Sea route, the UK government rightly condemns Houthi attacks against commercial shipping, yet at the same time it is failing to address the environmental concerns that arise from this situation, warns the Tyre Recovery Association.

Industry insiders point to the Red Sea shipping crisis as exposing the lethargy of UK’s policy making and a reliance on exports that has been termed ‘environmental colonialism’. Government has been presented with evidence of the misuse of UK baled end-of-life tyres by Indian importers but have taken no action. As ships are diverted via the Cape of Good Hope container rates for the shipment of used tyres have dramatically increased from an average £850 to £2,000. Meanwhile tyre collectors at the lower reaches of the market, commonly operating under a licence known as a T8 exemption, have come to rely on disposing of the tyres they collect by exporting to the Indian sub-continent. These operators have seen the price of the baled tyres they sell for export to the Indian sub-continent fall dramatically as overseas importers refuse to pay the additional surcharges shippers need to cover their increased transport costs.

The last time prices collapsed for these operators there was a significant increase in fly tipping, abandonment and major tyre fires. Such fires can take days to extinguish, involving dozens of firefighters. The noxious smoke can cause travel chaos to road and rail, as well as result in a dangerous reduction in air quality impacting local schools and communities.

T8 exempted operators are limited to storing 40 tonnes of tyre a week, with an average 26 tonnes of tyre making up one container for export, the challenge becomes clear with illegal storage expected to rocket. As unscrupulous end-of-life tyre operators come under pressure, illegal stockpiling will rise, as will fly tipping and illegal abandonment, which includes burning. A cycle of behaviour that will once again damage Britain’s environment looks inevitable, effecting water courses and the air we breathe. Meanwhile the Environment Agency and other enforcement authorities will struggle to keep up with the scale of rule breaking given the challenges already faced in preceding more stable times.

End-of-life tyre recyclers have been frustrated by the Government’s inability to implement the commitment made by the Environment Secretary to end T8 exemptions two years ago. With an election expected this year,

a DEFRA letter dated 04 January 2024, from the Minister responsible for land waste has confirmed that this government does not expect to allocate the necessary parliamentary time to curtail the well documented abuse of the T8 exemption in this parliament.

Peter Taylor OBE, Secretary General of the TRA, said:

“The crisis in the Red Sea is not just a threat to British people’s ability to buy their clothes from Next, it presents a looming environmental calamity for communities near sites across the country. The TRA has been warning the government that current regulations are inadequate and allow non-compliant waste tyre operators to continue abusing the rules. As Houthi pirates create a strangle hold on shipping routes the full picture of the UK’s end-life-tyre market and its over reliance on Indian sub-continent importers comes into sharp relief.

“Reputational damage to the industry from tyre fires, virtually all of which are at non-permitted sites, causes issue for mainstream permitted operators and the industry at large.

“We have the capacity and capability in the UK to responsibly deal with end-of-life tyres but urgently need the UK’s environmental regulations to catch up.”