§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what trials have been carried out to determine whether cement kilns can safely burn tyres. [59479]
§ Mr. MealeThe Environment Agency has regulated tyre-burning trials at the following cement works: Blue Circle Cauldon, Northfleet and Westbury. Currently, Cauldon is authorised to burn chipped tyres on a continuous basis and has done so for around four years. Northfleet successfully conducted trials in late 1996 but has yet to apply for permission to burn them on a continuous basis. At Westbury three trials have taken place. Despite the earlier Westbury trials being successful in reducing overall emissions to the environment, the third trial resulted in a breach of one of the authorisation conditions. As a consequence the Agency took enforcement action and the trial was, and continues to be, suspended.
Castle Cement's Ketton works was authorised to undertake trial burning of tyres in July 1998 and it is anticipated that trials will commence in January 1999.
Historically, Blue Circle's Hope and Weardale works and Rugby Cement's Rochester works have burned tyres. Hope works is applying to burn tyres on a trial basis but Weardale and Rochester works are not currently authorised to burn tyres on either a trial or continuous basis.
The results of all the trials can be found on the public registers which are maintained for each IPC process and which can be inspected at the Agency's regional offices and the relevant local authority offices.