§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the work of the joint Government/Industry Scrap Tyre Working Group since July 1999; and what the most recent figure is for the percentage of scrapped tyres from which the industry recovers value. [67680]
§ Mr. WilsonThe Used Tyre Working Group (UTWG) publishes a report each year which is distributed to interested parties and made available through its website at www.tyredisposal.co.uk. The latest report is dated July 2001 and copies have been placed in the Library of the House. The UTWG intends to publish its 2002 report later in the year in light of responses to the DTI's March 2002 discussion paper on used tyre issues. Copies of this paper can also be found in the Libraries of the House.
UTWG statistics for 2000 show that the industry recovered value from around 63 per cent. of the 450,000 tonnes of tyres disposed that year. This was less than in previous years due to the closure of the UK's single largest used tyre treatment facility in 2000. Since then, significant new processing capacity has been developed. The UTWG is currently compiling statistics for 2001 which are expected to show this processing capacity feeding through to an improved recovery rate.