Environment Agency Launches Tyre Export Review After BBC Uncovers Toxic Practices
The Environment Agency (EA) begins a thorough investigation into the UK’s waste tyre exports to India following a BBC File on 4 probe.
The Environment Agency has launched a full-scale review into the export of waste tyres from the UK to India after a BBC File on 4 investigation revealed serious environmental and health concerns tied to their disposal overseas.
The BBC's report found that millions of tyres, supposedly exported for recycling, are being processed in makeshift industrial furnaces in India. These operations, often located in remote rural areas, extract materials like steel, oil, and carbon black from the tyres by "cooking" them – a method that poses severe health risks and causes significant environmental pollution.
Conditions at these facilities are highly hazardous. During a recent visit to a plant in Maharashtra – where an explosion in January killed two women and two children – BBC reporters witnessed blackened vegetation, soot-covered surroundings, and contaminated waterways. Local residents complained of chronic coughing and eye irritation.
Each year, the UK discards approximately 50 million tyres (around 700,000 tonnes), with official figures indicating that about half are exported to India for recycling. However, the investigation revealed that as much as 70% of tyres sent from the UK and other countries end up in unregulated and dangerous processing sites.
The environmental campaign group Fighting Dirty has threatened legal action against the EA, accusing it of inaction on tyre exports. The group’s founder, Georgia Elliott-Smith, welcomed the EA's decision to launch a review, calling it a "major victory" and urging the government to confront the "illegal and immoral" trade practices.
In response to the BBC’s findings, the EA has requested access to the investigation’s evidence and assured that it is taking the claims seriously. A letter from the agency’s legal team, seen by the BBC, stated that the evidence would be reviewed thoroughly and form a key part of the EA’s internal inquiry.
The Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) also expressed concern, confirming that EA officials and legal experts are eager to explore potential regulatory breaches or criminal activity.
The EA further revealed plans to strengthen cooperation with Indian environmental authorities and intends to send a delegation later this year to discuss the issue directly with officials in India.
As scrutiny over the tyre export industry intensifies, campaigners and communities affected by these practices hope the EA's review marks a turning point in the regulation of global waste management.
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