11-Jul-2006
- Businesses are being reminded that used tyres
can no longer be sent to in landfills from 16
July 2006, when new regulations come into force
across England and Wales.
Nadia De Longhi, Strategy &
Policy Manager Waste Regulation at Environment
Agency Wales said: ‘From 16 July, regulations
will ban used whole and shredded tyres from being
disposed of in all landfill sites.
‘Over 48 million tyres were
scrapped in 2004, with around a quarter of these
going to landfill sites. The tyre industry has
responded to the requirements of the ban and recovery
capacity has been increasing steadily from 1995
to an estimated 95% in 2005. This legislation
will help us reduce the amount of waste that goes
to landfill, especially as there are better ways
we can manage waste tyres.
"More tyres will now have
to be recovered, recycled and reused - options
include retreading, use as alternative fuel, reprocessing
into ‘chip’ and ‘crumb’ for use in rubberised
playing field surfaces and roadways and drainage
schemes.’
Other established uses include
turning them into office stationery like mousemats,
bookmarks and coasters or even recycling the rubber
to make carpet underlay.
The tyre industry already has
a well-developed logistics network, made up of
companies that operate nationally and locally
providing a waste tyre collection service for
businesses. Details of companies providing this
service can be found on:
The Used Tyre Working Group
- www.tyredisposal.co.uk
The Tyre Recovery Association - www.tyrerecovery.org.uk
The Waste and Resources Action Programme(WRAP)
www.wrap.org.uk
The Wales Environment Trust, Creating Welsh Markets
for Recyclate (CwmRe) www.walesenvtrust.org.uk
The new rules are a result of an EU wide ban under
the Landfill Directive. Legislation banning the
landfilling of whole used tyres in certain sites
came into force in 2003. Now all waste tyres fall
under this legislation, with the exception of
large tyres from agricultural or heavy plant vehicles
(diameter greater than 1400mm) and bicycle tyres.
Tyres can still be used for
landfill engineering purposes and new tyres (manufacturing
rejects) can also be disposed of in landfill as
the regulations apply only to used tyres. The
Environment Agency will work closely with landfill
operators and waste producers, and their trade
associations, the WESA, BMRA and local authorities,
to ensure a smooth transition.
‘Our overall aim is to
ensure the continued safe management of waste
tyres after the ban on landfill disposal comes
into effect. The Environment Agency Wales will
take a pragmatic and proportionate approach to
enforce the regulations, and take action against
those who deliberately abuse the rules and fly
tip or allow tyres to be disposed of in landfills,’
added Nadia De Longhi.
Martin Watkins
