Tire groups warn of pressures on UK recycling sector

London - Tire recycling costs are being forced up at an alarming rate across the UK, leaders of the Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) and National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) have warned.

The increases, say the associations, are being driven by a combination of regulatory changes as well as market conditions, professional used tyre collectors and reprocessors are encountering challenging times.

“We, like other automotive waste streams, are encountering very significant costs stemming from new fire and site security guidelines imposed by the Environment Agency. These reduce capacity in many instances and put further significant pressure on costs which will all have to be passed on,” said Taylor.

TRA members, who account for over 70% of all used tyre arisings in the UK, are also being hit by a current slowdown in demand for tire-derived fuel (TDF) in Asian export markets and elsewhere due to a four-fold rise in shipping costs.

“We have been warning of these adverse factors for some time and now they are hitting us all at once,” commented Taylor.

For the NTDA, chief executive Stefan Hay urged tire distributors to avoid falling in to the trap of using rogue collectors, many of whom will be operating, often in breach of and therefore illegally, under current S2 exemptions.

“The NTDA urges its members, and other reputable tire businesses, to invest in the future and only use members of our industry partner body the TRA who have been audited by the TIF Responsible Recycler Scheme,” said Hay. Failure to do so will not only undermine the current collection infrastructure, but could also have a devastating long term impact on end of life tire collection in the UK.”