Go-ahead for tyre recycling plans

State-of-the art plant approved

- Phil Corrigan Local Democracy Reporter

MILLIONS of old tyres will be recycled at a new ‘state-of-the-art’ plant in Stoke-on-Trent.

Councillors have approved plans for the complex next to the existing Michelin factory on Stoke's Campbell Road.

Murfitts Industries, the company behind the proposals, says the plant will create a ‘vital synergy’ with the Michelin site by processing end-of-life tyres which are unsuitable for retreading.

Planning committee members at Stoke-on-Trent City Council were told that the facility would create around 25 jobs on the old E.on site, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the number of tyres going to landfill or incinerators.

Some local residents have raised concerns over issues such as noise, odour and air quality. But Martin Hopkins, from Murfitts Industries, told the committee that the plant will require operating permits and will be regulated by the Environment Agency.