Tyre recyclers calls for immediate end of T8 exemptions

The Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) has raised alarm over government inaction on regulatory reforms regarding end-of-life tyre recycling, warning that delays are exacerbating environmental damage and threatening domestic recycling capacity.

Despite repeated assurances, the government has yet to implement its commitment to ending T8 exemptions, which allow certain waste processing activities to operate outside standard environmental permitting.

The industry argues that this loophole is being exploited, leading to poor management of end-of-life tyres and an increased reliance on exports.

Questions raised in Parliament by Tessa Munt MP, answered on 11 February 2025, “failed to elicit a clear commitment” from Defra Minister Mary Creagh MP, who reiterated positions held by the previous administration.

When asked about the planned timeline to remove T8 exemptions on used tyres, Minister Creagh said: “Removal of the T8 waste exemption is one measure among a package of possible reforms to the waste exemptions regime. This Government is currently considering priorities for waste and resources and reform of the waste exemptions regime including related to used tyres.”

Meanwhile, the association warns that the European Union is pressing ahead with a review of its Waste Shipment Regulations, leaving the UK trailing behind.

Growing pressure from international markets

Concerns over UK tyre waste management are confined to domestic critics, the association explains. India’s Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA), representing 95 per cent of the country’s tyre industry, has called for a ban on end-of-life tyre imports.

The suggested ban cites environmental hazards associated with unregulated pyrolysis plants, and would cut off a major export destination for UK waste tyres, raising fears of increased illegal dumping and fires at home.

Explaining the TRA’s stance, Peter Taylor OBE, General Secretary of the TRA, commented: “If the UK doesn’t take the initiative, we will find ourselves in a very awkward position, responding to rules set by foreign governments.”

Call for policy reform and investment in domestic recycling

The association argues that current regulations favour exports at the expense of the UK’s recycling sector, undermining efforts to develop sustainable domestic solutions. The TRA is therefore calling for:

• The immediate removal of T8 exemptions, as already implemented in Scotland in 2018
• A ban on whole end-of-life tyre exports, following Australia’s model, to ensure waste is processed domestically in an environmentally responsible manner

With government ministers having previously pledged to create a circular economy and invest in green jobs, the recyclers are now demanding that these promises be translated into concrete policy changes.

Taylor added: “To create a truly circular economy that improves environmental management we need a viable UK tyre recovery industry now and into the future. Exports need to be looked at and the T8 exemption must end now. We cannot go on like this.

“Right now, we have capacity sitting idle while whole tyre exports accelerate environmental damage. Our members' businesses need regulatory reform to survive.

“The long-term waste road map articulated by the Secretary of State when he came to office last summer looks to be happening on another planet. Reality waits for no man, woman or government minister. We need action now.”