It's annoying when you take your car to th garage and they charge you to replace the tyres, but have you ever thought about where the tyres go when they are used?
Since 2006, the disposal of tyres in landfill sites has been illegal, as they do not break down properly and will cause environmental damage. More than forty five million are recycled on a yearly basis. The tyres are collected, melted down and reprocessed in line with government regulations.
The tyre recovery association have warned garages and tyre dealers that they could face whopping fines should they fail to recycle used tyres correctly. Nine people were recently prosecuted for for illegally dumping rubbish including used tyres, and had to pay a fine of seventy five thousand pounds.
"Garages have a legal duty of care to ensure that any used tyres they remove from vehicles are disposed of in a legal and environmentally sound manner," explains Peter Taylor OBE, secretary general, Tyre Recovery Association (TRA). "These recent prosecutions show that any collectors operating illegally will be tracked down and prosecuted. In addition, any retail premises that are complicit in the operation may also find themselves open to prosecution."
Despite the amount of tyres that are recycled, there are still lots of people illegally dumping tyres, and now garages need to obtain a certificate to say they have safely recycled their waste. Garages are fully audited to make sure that they are complying, and that they are doing their bit for the environment.
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