The UK’s Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) has issued an urgent call to action to the British government, warning that the country’s domestic tyre recycling industry is under severe threat due to inaction on outdated regulations and the continued export of end-of-life tyres (ELTs) to countries like India.

In a letter addressed to Mary Creagh MP, Minister for Waste and Recycling at DEFRA, the TRA urges the government to immediately end the T8 exemption — a loophole that allows unregulated tyre processing — and to ban the export of whole ELTs. The TRA stresses that unless action is taken now, responsible recycling operators may be forced to cease operations, leading to increased tyre dumping and fire risks across the UK.

Despite years of government promises to phase out the T8 exemption, the necessary reforms have not materialised. The TRA argues that this failure is allowing illegal and environmentally damaging practices to continue abroad—particularly in India, where British tyres are often burned in unregulated pyrolysis plants. Even India’s leading tyre trade body, ATMA, has called for an end to imported waste tyres.

The UK produces approximately 700,000 tonnes of ELTs annually, with over half exported, despite having sufficient domestic recycling capacity to manage more. The TRA says this undermines the UK’s own circular economy ambitions and hinders investment in green jobs and local industries.

TRA Secretary General Peter Taylor OBE warns:

“We are exporting an environmental problem that we are fully capable of managing at home.”

The association is calling on DEFRA to move beyond rhetoric and implement urgent regulatory reforms to support the UK’s tyre recycling sector and safeguard environmental standards.

Read the full press release on the Tyre Recovery Association's website for complete details and the official letter to the minister.