Waste tyres : UK tyre recycling industry faces crisis as waste tyres continue export surge

The UK's tyre recycling sector is teetering on the brink of collapse, with industry leaders drawing alarming parallels to the recent closures plaguing Britain's plastics recycling plants. The warning comes as the country exports an estimated 1,000 tonnes of whole waste tyres daily, much destined for questionable processing facilities overseas.

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The Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) has issued a stark warning that market pressures and an unlevel playing field are driving the UK's significant but underutilised used tyre processing capacity toward the same fate that has befallen multiple plastic recycling facilities. The core issue, according to industry insiders, remains the lack of competitive parity that has already triggered a spate of UK plastic recycling plant closures.

Current export patterns see vast quantities of whole waste tyres shipped abroad for uncontrolled and often illegal processing, creating an increasingly hostile operating environment for legitimate domestic processors. This situation mirrors the challenges that ultimately proved fatal for several major plastics recycling operations.

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The TRA continues its urgent call for government legislative reform, advocating for the implementation of a shred-only policy for waste tyre exports – a successful approach already adopted in Australia. While Defra's announcement to end the T8 exemption represents progress, the measure has yet to take effect.

Following the Environment Agency's publication of their inquiry into waste tyre exports, the TRA has responded with their "Road to Reform" – a comprehensive five-step plan designed to implement the inquiry's findings through straightforward measures. The association has also offered to meet with the Environment Agency to provide immediate assistance, with the agency expressing commitment to working with industry stakeholders on introducing necessary reforms.

Peter Taylor OBE, Secretary General of the Tyre Recovery Association, delivered a sobering assessment of the sector's prospects: "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 rightly said, these sites are closing because there isn't a level playing field. That is exactly 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."

Taylor emphasised the urgency of implementing available solutions: "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 Minister 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."

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The TRA emphasises that technological solutions exist today to address the sector's challenges. Digital chain of custody systems could ensure proper waste accounting and verification, providing the regulatory oversight necessary to maintain a level playing field for domestic processors.

The association's "Road to Reform" action plan offers the Environment Agency a practical framework for enhancing verification processes and improving enforcement of existing regulations, representing a collaborative approach to addressing the sector's mounting challenges before they reach crisis point.

Environment Agency Acts on TRA Recommendations

In a significant development, the Environment Agency issued new guidance on 1st October 2025 that closely resembles the TRA's "Road to Reform" action plan released just weeks earlier. The enhanced regulations introduce two specific requirements for export operators that address the core concerns raised by the industry.

First, tracking information including the Annex VII form must now be provided both prior to and following shipment, demonstrating that the intended destination receives the waste tyres detailed in documentation. This requirement must be supported by additional documentation to verify the complete chain of custody.

Second, operators must provide information demonstrating that waste tyres will be recovered in an environmentally sound manner to standards of environmental and human health protection that are broadly equivalent to those in the UK. This directly addresses concerns about tyres being diverted to illegal pyrolysis operations, particularly in India, where UK waste tyres have been causing environmental damage and health concerns in local communities.

The new measures represent a validation of the TRA's years-long campaign to prevent British end-of-life tyres from causing harm overseas. The timing is particularly noteworthy, coming just six weeks after the TRA issued its five-point plan to help the Environment Agency translate policy commitments into enforceable action.

Peter Taylor OBE welcomed the announcement as a crucial turning point for the sector: "This is an important step forward and will be welcomed by responsible operators across the country. The TRA have been campaigning for years to end the damage British waste tyres are doing to the environment and in local communities overseas, in particular in India."

"Only six weeks ago we issued our five-point plan to help the EA turn their rhetoric into a reality. Last week's announcement saw those recommendations being put into practice and some oft repeated rhetoric taking a significant step closer to becoming reality."

"We will continue to support the Environment Agency with their work on this and look forward to meeting with them soon in order to do that."

The enhanced verification requirements represent a critical test of whether regulatory reform can reverse the trend toward export-driven collapse that has already devastated the UK's plastics recycling sector. The coming months will reveal whether the Environment Agency's enforcement mechanisms can translate policy into meaningful change, protecting both domestic processing capacity and communities overseas from the environmental burden of UK waste tyres.

With over 300,000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres exported annually despite at least 150,000 tonnes of idle domestic processing capacity, the stakes remain high for the UK's tyre recovery industry. The October reforms offer hope that responsible operators may finally compete on a level playing field, but full implementation of the TRA's recommendations will be essential to secure the sector's long-term viability.