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Minister calls for “swift end” to T8 Exemptions
UnsplashAfter lobbying regulators to do more to prevent rogue operators using T8 exemptions as a cover for the illegitimate handling of Britain’s end-of-life tyres, the Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) has welcomed DEFRA’s February announcement suggesting the government department would act to end the current exemptions regime.
The power and responsibility of tyre distribution – key sessions in the 2022 Tyre Industry Conference
NTDAThe National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) Tyre Industry Conference has developed a reputation for assembling top-flight speakers to address the key issues of the day. The 2022 event was no different. Topics included tyre distributors’ role in highway safety as positive influencers, part worns and market surveillance as well as tyre recovery.
TRA urges UK to mirror Australia’s move to end unprocessed end-of-life tyre exports
The Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) has spoken out to endorse the move Australian government’s move to prohibit the export of most unprocessed end-of-life tyres from December 2021. The only exception will be casings suitable for retreading or validated reuse. In addition, Peter Taylor, secretary general of the TRA urged DEFRA Secretary of state George Eustice MP to closely study this change in Australian law and consider whether the UK should follow a similar path:
First continuous pyrolysis plant for end-of-life tyres ‘supports’ TRA ‘vision’
Shaun Flannery/shaunflanneryphotography.comCarlton Forest Renewables (formerly known as IRR Waste 2 Energy) has become a member of the Tyre Recovery Association (TRA). The company’s Worksop based continuous pyrolysis plant – the first of its kind in the UK – is due to become fully operational in the fourth quarter of 2021. The company said that it pledges its support to the TRA as they work towards a shared goal for the responsible recovery of used tyres.
Average car tyre weight up 7% in 5 years, increasing recovery cost
The Tyre Recovery Association has revealed one simple factor behind the increased expense of collection and recycling end of life car tyres; they are getting heavier. New analysis by Astutus Research reveals that the average weight of a car tyre is now seven per cent more that it was just five years ago. Several factors have recently combined to push up the cost of waste tyre collection.
Michelin sponsors 2021 TRA Responsible Recycler Scheme Award
Michelin Tyre will sponsor the inaugural Responsible Recycler Scheme (RRS) Member of the Year Award in 2021. The National Tyre Distributors Association has added the accolade to its suite of Tyre Industry Awards, recognising its closer ties with the Tyre Recovery Association. The TRA’s Responsible Recycler Scheme has promoted best practice in tyre recycling for many years, while the sector has been generating increased interest with several key investments announced over the past 18 months. The award reflects the rising profile of tyre recycling in the UK, with the associations recognising the need to promote the best performing companies in this vital industry. Michelin’s sponsorship of the award joins the manufacturer’s commitment to switch to 100 per cent renewable, recycled and bio-based materials for its tyres by 2050, restated recently as part of the manufacturer’s strategic framework.
Why now is the time to support tyre recovery stabilisation
The fourth session of the virtual Tyre Industry Conference centred on tyre recycling and the circular economy in the year of coronavirus. Joined by the Tyre Recovery Association’s secretary general Peter Taylor OBE and Mark Murfitt, the managing director of the UK’s largest tyre recycler, Murfitts Industries, our discussion focused on issues affecting collection and processing of end of life tyres in the UK, the impact of the pandemic, the damage caused by non-compliance, and future developments in tyre recycling. The UK’s tyre recycling sector witnessed a number of investments in 2020 from companies such as the newly formed Norwegian outfit Wastefront’s intention to build a pyrolysis facility in Sunderland and the UK’s Powerhouse Energy Group’s Cheshire DMG syngas plant. So noticeable was this trend that Tyrepress published its first ever Digital Feature based largely on the trend – a magazine-style online feature collecting the latest news from the segment in one place. The interest in this unglamorous but vital segment would perhaps represent a surprise to some, but several developments led to this flurry of activity.
End exemptions to prevent future incidents – TRA reacts to Bradford tyre fire
Network Rail Air Ops teamThe tyre fire started in the early hours of Monday morning in Bradford continued to cause disruption in the local area as thirteen schools were forced to remain closed on Tuesday. Trains remained unable to access the city’s Interchange and thick smoke reached as far away as neighbouring city Leeds, as the severe effects of the fire continued into a second day despite its containment by fire crews. A previous occupant of the site, karting charity OnTrack, confirmed to the Telegraph & Argos that it had removed “everything” it owned when it left Spring Mill Street in mid-2019. Considering the Environment Agency (EA) was probing potentially illegal activity at the site in July 2020, evidence is building that the waste tyres fuelling the blaze were stored improperly. Tyres & Accessories asked Peter Taylor, the secretary general of the Tyre Recovery Association, who warned of the dangers of a rise in non-compliant stockpiling earlier in the year, whether the incident shows that changes are needed in the way regulations governing waste tyre storage are enforced.
Nearly 50% exemption-holding end-of-life tyre collector sites non-compliant
The “worst fears” of the Tyre Recovery Association have been confirmed by Environment Agency data confirming a rise in levels of non-compliance by many end-of-life tyre (ELT) claiming ‘T8 exemptions’ for their businesses. EA inspections conducted in the first eight months of 2020 showed almost 50 per cent of sites visited failed to meet legal requirements. This is considerably worse than comparative data from 2019. Inspections of almost sixty sites carried out by the EA across England last year revealed over one-third to be legally non-compliant. prices typically charged by recyclers to accept end of life tyres from collectors have almost doubled since the start of the year.
Mounting evidence of fly-tipping and abandonment alarms TRA members
This autumn could bring with it a new rash of tyre dumping and site abandonment warns Britain’s Tyre Recovery Association (TRA). The association has warned that there are several factors of which the public, our regulators and the tyre trade should be aware. The TRA’s latest comments follow a previous warning that market conditions were likely to have such consequences earlier in the year.
EA allows portside tyre shred storage, updates advice
Peter H; PixabayOn 3 July 2020 the UK government issued advice on the port-side storage of tyre shred via a time-limited Environment Agency Regulatory Position Statement (RPS 238). RPS 238 was updated on 15 September 2020 and lasts until 30 June 2021.
TRA ‘alarmed’ at proposed Europe-wide ban on rubber infill
Tyre Recovery Association members have called a new proposal to ban the use of tyre-derived rubber infill in sports surfaces as “incomprehensible and counter-intuitive”. The European Chemical Agency (ECHA) wants to ban the reuse of materials containing ‘intentionally added’ microplastics such as tyres from 2028. The TRA estimates that in the course of their service lives, car tyres alone shed some half a million tonnes of micronized rubber annually across the continent of Europe.
Could Covid impact lead to widespread ‘dead-end’ stockpiling of waste tyres?
The Tyre Recovery Association is urging the Environment Agency to be more vigilant about stockpiling waste tyres. The association is concerned that the current relaxation of stockpile permitting rules could lead to operators storing more waste tyres than they can handle. With recycling gate prices high and cashflow under enormous pressure, the temptation to accept unrealistic collection price offers is great. However, if the collector is unable to process waste tyres as a result, abandoned waste tyre stockpiles could become “an ugly and very expensive problem”, which could prove damaging to the reputation of the tyre business as a whole.
Tyre recovery prices could double
Tighter waste recovery practices in India will drive “a big increase in recovery costs across Europe and beyond”, according to industry body the Tyre Recovery Association (TRA). Together with similar moves in some other SE Asian countries, the TRA warns vehicle dismantlers and tyre retailers that disposal costs could “as much as double” in the coming weeks and months.
