USED TYRE LOOPHOLE FUELS TOXIC WASTE NIGHTMARE

'T8' exemption exploited to offload old tyres to developing nations

-  JAMES GORDON

The head of the UK's largest tyre trade body has called on the Labour government to take urgent action to close legal loopholes that enable millions of exported used tyres to be burnt in India.

Darren Lindsey, who leads the British Tyre Manufacturers' Association (BTMA) – a trade body that represents tyre manufacturers and retreaders – warns that politicians need to end the so-called T8 exemption and “introduce stricter controls and traceability measures”.

This, he said, would bring to an end the environmental and human harm when end-of-life tyres are sent for disposal to countries where regulatory and environmental standards do not align with the UK's. According to official figures, of the 50 million tyres sent to waste every year, around half are exported.

It is the T8 exemption that allows these tyres to be sent abroad. The exemption is easy to apply for and approved without the need for a site inspection, and it was originally put in place for low-risk sectors, such as agricultural and recyclers, to allow them to process up to 40 tonnes of waste passenger car tyres per week without having to apply for a stricter environmental permit.