It’s carbon accounting trickery — plain and simple. We’re not cutting emissions, we’re just dumping them on someone else’s doorstep. It’s the same madness as Labour and Ed Miliband blocking North Sea oil, only to import energy from halfway across the world. It’s not green — it’s just offshoring guilt.”
So much for going green — Britain is quietly shipping MILLIONS of old tyres abroad every year, and many end up being BURNED in toxic plants.
Despite our proud boasts of going “Net Zero”, The Post can reveal the UK exports up to 50 million used tyres annually, with a large chunk sent to India, Pakistan, and other countries.
And here’s the kicker — 70% of those tyres are believed to be torched in facilities that extract oil, black carbon and scrap metal, often with little environmental oversight.
While Britain pats itself on the back for cutting emissions at home, it turns out we’re simply offloading our waste and pollution elsewhere.
TOXIC TRADE
Investigations by environmental groups, including Greenpeace, have exposed how thousands of illegal or barely-regulated pyrolysis plants — many in India — burn used tyres to break them down into crude oil-like substances and other by-products.
Locals say these sites spew thick black smoke, foul smells and dangerous fumes into the air — often near homes, schools, and farmland.
In one 2020 report, Greenpeace said: “The uncontrolled burning of tyres releases a cocktail of toxic chemicals into the environment and poses serious health risks.”
Many of the tyres come from UK “recycling” companies that are allowed to export tyres for reuse, retreading or energy recovery — but experts say there’s very little enforcement over what actually happens once they arrive.
JUST OUTSOURCED POLLUTION
Quite simply we are offloading the dirty work abroad.
Plus the carbon emissions created by shipping millions of tyres halfway around the world, and then burning them in polluting plants, are not counted in the UK’s official climate targets.
That means while the Government boasts about slashing emissions and hitting “net zero”, we’re just exporting the pollution and pretending it doesn’t exist. Critics say it’s a greenwashing scandal, and Labour is cooking the books on its climate promises.
WHAT’S BEING DONE?
The Environment Agency insists it monitors tyre exports and that only licensed operators are allowed to ship waste abroad. But critics say illegal shipments and abuses are rife, and inspections are few and far between.
Meanwhile, ministers say they’re “looking into the issue” — but campaigners want an outright ban on exporting tyres for pyrolysis or incineration unless the facilities meet strict environmental standards.
A Conservative MP told the Conservative Post: “Exporting waste to be burned in poorly regulated countries is an environmental disgrace and a textbook case of climate hypocrisy. It’s carbon accounting trickery — plain and simple. We’re not cutting emissions, we’re just dumping them on someone else’s doorstep. It’s the same madness as Labour and Ed Miliband blocking North Sea oil, only to import energy from halfway across the world. It’s not green — it’s just offshoring guilt.”
Whichever way you look at it Britain’s tyre mountain is quietly going up in smoke — just not in our backyard.
FACTBOX: TYRES AND FIRE – THE NUMBERS
🔹 Up to 50 million tyres are scrapped in the UK every year
🔹 A large portion are exported to India, Pakistan, and Malaysia
🔹 Upto 70% are used for pyrolysis — burning tyres to extract oil and carbon
🔹 UK emissions don’t count the pollution caused by shipping and burning abroad
🔹 Campaigners warn of health and environmental risks
Unfortunately, you cannot point at the Labour government on this one. The Conservatives told the EA they would be removing the T8 in 2016. Successive Ministers at DeFRA failed to act.
Last year George Eustice said that the T8 removal paperwork had never crossed his desk.