The Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) in the United Kingdom reports that this autumn could bring with it a new rash of end-of-life tyre dumping and site abandonment. Several factors are in play at this present time which the public, UK’s regulators and the tyre trade itself should be aware, according to the TRA.

First and foremost ‘gate’ prices – typical amount charged by end-of-life tyre recyclers and others to accept old tyres from those providing a collection-only service – have almost doubled since the start of the year as market conditions have hardened, indications are that they will remain at these new levels. Many smaller collectors have been slow to recognise this reality and now find themselves holding large quantities of old tyres they have collected at prices too low to fund current reprocessing costs so leading to abandonment.

A further factor is that the Environment Agency’s temporary Covid-driven relaxation of storage limits for UK’s old tyres ends on 30th September 2020, so operators who have availed themselves of this concession must revert to their normal or permitted limits.

Lastly, the prospect of an early end to the widely abused ‘Exemptions’ regime in England and Wales will put further pressure on some operators to choose between more responsible levels of regulatory compliance or business closure.

‘These are an exceptional set of circumstances’, said Peter Taylor OBE (TRA Secretary-General), which we fear will have reputational consequences for our industry and for regulators. We in the TRA have consistently argued for more effective enforcement but now more than ever we urge Police and regulators to be more than ever alert to the growing dangers of widespread and opportunistic abandonment over the coming months’.

The TRA’s message to tyre retailers, vehicle dismantlers and all those needing to responsibly dispose of their tyres is a simple one. With levels of criminality on the rise just now it is more important than ever you ensure one meets his/her legal Duty of Care when passing on wastes such as end-of-life tyres. TRA’s website explains how to avoid potentially costly mistakes.

Press release by TRA.