HC Deb 11 February 2000 vol 344 cc316-7W
Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many waste tyres were produced in the United Kingdom in the last year; and by what means they were disposed of. [109685]

Ms Hewitt

The Used Tyre Working Group, a joint Government/Industry initiative established to consider used tyre disposal issues, estimated that around 465,000 tonnes of tyres were disposed of in 1998. Of this total, it is estimated that value was recovered from approximately 330,000 tonnes. The table provides a breakdown:

Tonnes
Exports of used casings 35,000
Re-used as part-worn tyres 29,000
Other reuse (silage clamps, dock fenders, etc.) 20,000
Retreaded tyres 86,000
Materials recovery 49,000
Energy recovery 84,500
Landfill engineering 25,500

It is estimated that a significant proportion of the outstanding balance of some 135,000 tonnes was disposed of in landfill, either in whole or shredded form or as automotive shredder residue.

The Used Tyre Working Group is currently in the process of collecting used tyre disposal statistics for 1999.

The EU Landfill Directive will ban the disposal of almost all tyres to landfill during 2006, requiring the development of further tyre recovery facilities to handle those tyres that would otherwise have gone to landfill. The Government will continue to work closely with industry on this issue.