This content is out of date and scheduled to be removed.

Garages tempted to hurt the environment by disposing of tyres illegally

Image of Faye Sunderland
Author: | Updated: 23 Sep 2014 10:40

Nearly two-thirds of garages (65%) say they have either considered or being approached to dispose of old tyres illegally according to new research.

With some businesses caving into temptation, old tyres are being burned for fuel or dumped on roadsides, significantly contributing to environmental pollution, a leading British waste management company has found.

Old tyres stacked up freedigitalphotos.netWhile there are many perfectly legal ways of disposing of trade waste from the motor industry, many of the UK's 55 million tyres which are disposed of every year go through unofficial channels with a substantial environmental cost, the BusinessWaste.co.uk says.

In a survey of 825 UK garage and tyre replacement businesses, the website found that nearly a third of businesses (31%) had considered illegally disposing of tyres with a further 12 per cent saying they have given old tyres to unregistered waste handlers.

While most businesses are honest and use official disposal channels, 2 per cent said they had fly-tipped old tyres or left them at household waste centres illegally.

"While many companies in the motor trade are entirely law-abiding, there's still a significant number who continue to flout the law," says BusinessWaste.co.uk spokesperson Mark Hall.

What drives businesses to ditch tyres illegally is largely financial; old tyres are heavy and bulky and are therefore expensive to dispose of under a by-weight or by-volume waste management agreement.

"If a chap with a pick-up truck turns up and says he'll take them off your hands for nothing, it's obvious that some people will be tempted," explains Hall.

Burnt for fuel

Tyres picked up in this manner are often sold to export brokers, where they are shipped to developing countries, where they more than half are burned for fuel. These countries have less stringent waste and pollution controls, which means that while countries like China benefit from cheap energy, it also blankets East Asia in thick smog and has global environmental impact.

"Just because they're not being burned in our backyard doesn't make it less of a problem for British businesses," says Hall. "It's an illegal trade that hurts the planet, and hurts jobs in our waste management trade."

Legal methods of disposing of unwanted tyres are cheaper than most companies realise, Business Waste says.

"It's worth talking to your local waste management specialists to ask about alternatives," says Hall. "There are often local schemes that will take tyres and put them to alternative uses."

One such organisation is the Tyre Recovery Association, which encourages responsible retailers to join a tyre recovery process that recycles the old rubber into a number of high-demand products.

This includes children’s playground furniture and surfaces, athletics tracks and sports pitches, carpet underlay, flooring, fuel for kilns where waste products are properly filtered. In some cases, technology has advance far enough for crumb from old tyres to be used as a building material and in quieter road surfaces.

"Don't tire of recycling your tyres," adds Hall. "Do it legally and safely, and then you won't find the wheels falling off your business."

Previous Post Next Post
Not sure what car you want?
  • Easy-to-use tool
  • Save time and money
  • Meet your match
Find your dream car