In an update published this week (12 January 2025), the regulator confirmed it has already introduced enhanced verification checks on waste tyre exports and rejected a number of overseas recovery facilities that failed to meet required environmental standards.
The EA said the measures form part of a wider response to concerns about illegal waste tyre processing, particularly in India, and will be followed by broader reforms to international waste shipment controls.
Action taken on waste tyre exports
Between 1 October and 15 December 2025, the EA served information notices on 42 exporters.
During this period, it approved 41 Indian recovery facilities as meeting ESM standards, while rejecting 13 facilities that failed to do so, meaning waste tyre movements to those sites are now prohibited.
The regulator also received 1,093 Annex VII waste movement forms, which cover waste tyre exports to all destinations and are being used to assess emerging trends and alternative markets beyond India.
The EA said it will publish further findings and outcomes from the enhanced verification checks in spring 2026.
Regulatory review
The update followed a targeted EA review into the regulation of waste pneumatic tyres and their export, prompted by concerns that regulatory gaps were allowing waste tyres to be diverted from legitimate recycling routes into illegal pyrolysis operations in India.
India formally banned the import of waste tyres for pyrolysis in July 2022, but the EA said evidence suggested UK exports were still at risk of being mismanaged overseas.
The review concluded that stronger measures were required to ensure waste tyre exports are managed in an environmentally sound way throughout shipment and recovery.
Four priority actions were identified:
- Implementing enhanced verification checks
- Improving staff training on UK Waste Shipment Regulations
- Strengthening partnership working
- Improving horizon scanning to identify emerging risks
Looking ahead, the EA plans to publish a further update in early 2026, including more detail on the impact of the enhanced verification checks.
While the immediate focus has been on waste tyre exports, the agency said it is also planning wider reforms to the regulation of international waste shipments.
These include the development of a new system for regulating green list waste shipments ahead of Digital Waste Tracking, with proposals for additional compliance officers, improved data, and new digital tools to target high-risk movements.
Industry calls for tyre export ban
The Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) has called for the UK Government to introduce a ban on the export of whole and baled end-of-life tyres (ELTs).
The association said persistent exports of unprocessed tyres continue to undermine legitimate UK recyclers while contributing to pollution in countries with weaker environmental oversight.
The TRA also highlighted ongoing frustration over delays to wider regulatory reform.
Defra has previously signalled its intention to end the T8 exemption, which allows limited treatment of end-of-life tyres without a full environmental permit, but the association said there remains no firm timeline for implementation.
The Waste Tyres Bill, which would abolish the exemption, is currently progressing through the House of Commons.
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