House of Lords Hears Appeal Against Cemex Tyre Burning

A group seeking to stop the cement manufacturer Cemex from burning tyres as fuel at its Rugby works began a three-day hearing in the House of Lords on January 21. The five law lords have been asked to overturn a ruling made by the Appeal Court in mid-2006 that permitted Cemex to initially trial the use of tyres and other materials as fuel and then, in February 2007, gain Environment Agency approval to use tyres as a partial replacement for coal.

The case currently before the lords seeks to redress the alleged inadequate level of disclosure of reports by the Environment Agency’s Air Quality Modelling and Assessment Unit before approval was granted. When the High Court ruling was originally made the judge commented on what was perceived as “real shortcomings” in the way the Environment Agency had dealt with the issue; however the judge declined to outlaw the burning of tyres at the Rugby works on the basis of this.

The hearing is scheduled to last three days, with a decision given in writing at a later date. A verdict from the law lords is expected to take about two months.