TRA warns Red Sea crisis could threaten UK environment with increase in illegal waste tyre storage and fly tipping

The Tyre Recovery Association has warned of a potential increase in damage to the environment around the UK as a result of disruption to a popular shipping route. The Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea will likely mean an increase in distance and time for vessels navigating the popular route between Europe and Asia, meaning costs will inevitably increase. The TRA says 75 per cent of the UK’s waste tyres are exported to the Indian subcontinent where there is evidence of pollutive dumping of baled waste tyres, a situation the TRA has described as “environmental colonialism”. Commenting on the emerging situation, the association is scathing about the UK government’s “apathy” about tackling the market’s waste tyres sustainably without depending on exports. With shipping costs are more than doubling, the TRA cites precedence that suggests rogue operators are likely to resort increasingly to illegal storage or fly tipping within the UK, as exporters are unwilling to cover the increased costs for collectors.