§ Lord Beaumont of Whitleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
How they intend that used tyres and chipped tyres shall be disposed of when they are banned from landfill sites in 2003 and 2006 respectively. [HL3530]
§ Lord WhittyOver 400,000 tonnes of used tyres are disposed of annually in the UK. Seventy per cent of these are already beneficially treated through a variety of processes rather than being sent to landfill. Examples include retreading, granulating the tyre for inclusion in sports and safety surfaces and the use of tyres as a substitute fuel. Capacity to treat used tyres continues to grow in anticipation of the forthcoming ban on their disposal to landfill.
The Department of Trade and Industry has recently issued a discussion paper on a possible producer responsibility model to deal with used tyres, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.