BBC Investigation: Millions of end-of-life tyres exported to illegal pyrolysis facilities
The BBC File on 4 investigation finds that UK tyres are fuelling toxic pollution in unlicensed processing plants, prompting industry calls for immediate regulation.
The Tyre Scandal challenges the UK government’s claim that strict regulations are in place to prevent such practices, and has led to demands for immediate policy reform from leading figures in the UK tyre recovery industry.
Exported tyres are being burned at pyrolysis facilities
According to the BBC’s investigation, millions of tyres exported from the UK under the guise of recycling are instead being burned in makeshift facilities, releasing toxic pollutants into the air.
Around 70 per cent of tyres exported from the UK and the rest of the world to India end up in these industrial plants, the Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) estimates. The tyres then undergo pyrolysis, a form of chemical recycling that extracts steel, oil, and carbon black powder or pellets.
The BBC investigation reports that there are up to 2,000 pyrolysis plants in India, around half of which are unlicensed and therefore illegal. Travelling to Masami, a village next to a cluster of these plants, the investigators found that severe pollution was greatly impacting the locals’ health. The investigation also spoke to a variety of companies that deal with end-of-life tyres, uncovering that many are bailing and exporting the tyres rather than recycling them, due to the cheaper costs.
This trade persists despite assurances from the UK’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) that strict controls are in place to prevent environmental harm.
However, industry experts say these regulations are failing. “The reality of the environmental damage caused by UK whole-tyre exports has been publicly exposed,” said Peter Taylor OBE, Secretary General of the TRA. “I congratulate the BBC for shining a light on a trade that contradicts the British government’s rhetoric of good environmental practice.”
The report notes that whilst bigger businesses are tightly regulated, smaller operators can apply for exemptions that allow them to export tyres more easily.
Calls for an immediate ban on whole tyre exports
The TRA argue that the solution is simple: an end to the T8 exemption, which allows whole ELTs to be exported under minimal oversight, and a ban of the export of baled whole tyres altogether.
In early March, the association raised the alarm over government inaction about T8 exemptions, following Defra Minister Mary Creagh MP’s failure to show a clear commitment to ending the loopholes.
“Ministers responsible for waste and environmental policy should stop twiddling their fingers and undertake the simple policy reform that can end this immediately,” Taylor added.
Bill Clarke, Managing Director of DME Tyres and President of the TRA, echoed these concerns: “It is time for ministers to just bring an end to the T8 exemption and ban the export of baled end-of-life whole tyres. Then we can take them seriously about wanting to protect the environment and grow Britain’s domestic capability to deliver the circular economy they keep talking about.”
The UK government has previously pledged to phase out the T8 exemption, with Scotland having already taken action in 2018.
The TRA has called on the government to match its words with action by banning the export of whole ELTs and prioritising domestic recycling infrastructure.
