The government of the United Kingdom recently issued a statement where it announced that the low risk waste position (LRWP) applies to the use waste tyres in escape ladders in water storage reservoirs.

When one follows the conditions in this LRWP, the use waste tyres in escape ladders in water storage reservoirs is allowed without an environmental permit for a waste operation.

Conditions one must comply with

Users must not:

  • bring tyres to the site before you start to construct the water storage reservoir
  • use more than 1,000 tyres
  • store more than 500 tyres in a pile without a 6 metre fire break
  • store the tyres for more than 3 months before they are used

Users must make sure their activities do not endanger human health or the environment. One must not:

  • cause a risk to water, air, soil, plants or animals
  • cause a nuisance through noise or odours
  • adversely affect the countryside or places of special interest

Enforcement

A LRWP means that the Environment Agency will not normally take enforcement action against users provided that:

  • their activity meets the description set out in this LRWP
  • they comply with the conditions set out in this LRWP
  • their activity does not, and is not likely to, cause environmental pollution or harm human health

Information source: UK Government.