THE UK’S TYRE WASTE CRISIS: ILLEGAL EXPORTS, MARKET INSTABILITY & THE URGENT NEED FOR A CIRCULAR ECONOMY SOLUTION

Sustainable Development Goals

Current Project Status:
Development Started 2007 | Feasibility Study | Pre-FEED
Organizations Involved:
Klean Industries (UK) Ltd (KIU), NISP, Defra, Intowaste, Greenergy, UK RTFO, OSS Group & many tyre manufacturers, retailers & recyclers 
Services:
Design & Engineering, Due Diligence, Supply Chain Management, Component Supply

At Klean Industries, we specialize in tire pyrolysis to transform end-of-life tires into renewable transport fuels. Our innovative approach not only addresses the global challenge of waste tire management but also contributes to sustainable fuel production, reinforcing our commitment to circular economy solutions.

The Challenge: The UK’s Broken End-of-Life Tyre Recycling System:

The United Kingdom generates between 350,000 and 400,000 metric tonnes of end-of-life tyres (ELTs) annually, requiring sustainable waste management solutions. However, the UK’s tyre recycling industry is in crisis, plagued by illegal exports, regulatory failures, and market instability that threaten the viability of domestic recycling operations.

With landfilling and mass incineration of tyres banned across the European Union, traditional disposal methods—such as chipping, crumbing, and cement kiln fuel use—are increasingly unsustainable, low-value, or environmentally damaging. The UK lacks the infrastructure to effectively process its tyre waste, creating a market vacuum that has paved the way for illegal exports and environmental exploitation in developing nations.

The Scale of the Problem:

  • 85% of UK end-of-life tyres are illegally exported—approximately 290,000 tonnes in 2023 alone.
  • India has become the dominant market for UK tyre exports, despite widespread environmental concerns.
  • A lack of government oversight allows rogue operators to undercut legitimate recycling businesses, crippling UK-based tyre processors.
  • No practical Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system exists to regulate the flow of waste tyres or support high-quality recycling initiatives.

Without immediate regulatory intervention, the UK’s domestic tyre recycling industry will collapse, leading to more significant environmental damage, lost economic opportunities, and dependence on unethical overseas waste disposal.

The Solution: Klean Industries’ Advanced Tyre Recycling & Resource Recovery Technology

Klean Industries, a global leader in sustainable tyre recycling and resource recovery, has developed a proven, commercial-scale pyrolysis and gasification system that transforms waste tyres into high-value recovered materials. Unlike low-efficiency recycling methods, Klean’s technology recovers the core components of tyre production, including:

  • ✅ Recovered Fuel Oil (rFO): A low-carbon fuel alternative comparable to virgin industrial fuels.
  • ✅ Recovered Carbon Black (rCB): A high-performance, sustainable replacement for virgin carbon black in tyre manufacturing, rubber compounding, and plastics.
  • ✅ Recovered Steel Wire (rSW): A high-value ferrous material that can be reintegrated into the steel industry.
  • ✅ Green Hydrogen Production: Utilizing excess syngas to support clean hydrogen energy initiatives.

Klean’s technology was first pioneered in Japan in the 1980s, commercialized by Mitsubishi Materials, and refined over decades. The acquisition of the technology developed by Carbon Resource Recovery ("CRR") of Berlin, Germany, combined to bolster and was consolidated into a high-efficiency system now owned and patented by Klean Industries.

Why Klean’s Tyre Pyrolysis Solution is Superior

  • ✅ Scalable & Continuous Processing: Capable of handling 160+ metric tonnes per day (52,800+ tonnes annually).
  • ✅ High-Value Carbon Black Recovery: Produces premium-grade rCB that meets ASTM standards, replacing 10–100% of virgin carbon black in rubber and plastic products.
  • ✅ Zero Waste & Energy-Efficient: Generates renewable energy from syngas, offsetting emissions and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
  • ✅ Market-Driven Innovation: Designed to meet stringent environmental and industrial standards while ensuring strong financial returns for investors.

The Impact of Brexit & the UK’s Regulatory Failures

Planned initially as Klean Industries’ European flagship operation, the UK-based Resource Recovery Facility (RRF) faced significant uncertainty due to Brexit, market instability, and weak regulatory frameworks.

  • 1️⃣ Brexit created long-term uncertainty for UK-produced recovered carbon black (rCB) due to potential tariffs and complex REACH regulations.
  • 2️⃣ The UK lacks a stable domestic market for high-quality rCB, making local operations financially unviable compared to EU alternatives.
  • 3️⃣ No mandatory EPR scheme or government-backed stewardship program exists, allowing illegal tyre exports to undermine regulated recycling operations.

The Rise of Illegal Tyre Exports to India

The UK’s lack of oversight has allowed rogue tyre collectors to flood the market with cheap exports, primarily to India, where tyres are:

  • Burned as unregulated fuel, replacing coal in power plants and brick kilns.
  • Processed in low-quality, polluting pyrolysis plants, which release toxic emissions into the air and water.

KleanTeam research, conducted in collaboration with UK and Indian government agencies, revealed that at least 235,000 metric tonnes of waste tyres were imported into India beyond the official HSM EC allowances, indicating rampant illegal shipments. These tyres are often offloaded at ports and redirected to unlicensed facilities, bypassing regulatory checks.

Despite the Indian government’s recent ban on tyre imports for pyrolysis, the UK government has failed to take similar action, leaving legitimate recyclers unable to compete with illegal exporters.

A Call to Action: The UK Must Ban Whole & Baled Tyre Exports

The only solution to save the UK tyre recycling industry is a total ban on whole and baled tyre exports, similar to Australia’s successful export restrictions.

  • If India wants UK tyres, they should purchase responsibly processed materials, such as crumb rubber or tyre-derived fuel (TDF).
  • Illegal exports must be stopped to create a fair, transparent market for high-quality domestic recycling.
  • Investors and businesses will not support large-scale UK recycling operations without regulatory protections against rogue operators.

Until the UK government enforces meaningful regulations, Klean Industries cannot advise investors or customers to pursue large-scale projects in the UK tyre recycling sector.

Why Klean Industries is the Clear Leader in Circular Tyre Recycling Solutions

For over two decades, Klean Industries has been the global standard-bearer for high-efficiency tyre pyrolysis and resource recovery. Unlike competitors relying on low-grade, small-scale pyrolysis systems, Klean’s commercialized, industry-proven technology is already operational at scale with rCB being used by significant tyre manufacturers and industrial clients worldwide.

Klean Industries’ Key Advantages

  • ✅Proven Commercial-Scale Technology: Decades of real-world performance in tyre pyrolysis & carbon recovery.
  • ✅ High-Performance Recovered Carbon Black (rCB): Sustainable, ASTM-compliant carbon black for the rubber, plastics & coatings industries.
  • ✅ Biogenic Recovered Fuel Oil (rFO): A low-carbon alternative for industrial fuel applications.
  • ✅Turnkey Pyrolysis Solutions: Fully integrated systems designed for circular economy compliance.

Future-Proof Your Business with Klean Industries

Contact Klean Industries today to learn how our industry-leading tyre pyrolysis and carbon recovery technologies can help your company reduce costs, drive sustainability, and achieve circular economy goals without succumbing to an unstable, unregulated market.

If you would like to learn more about this project, please get in touch with us now >> GO.

This project addresses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by considering the goals and associated targets illustrated by the WBCSD’s Tyre Industry Project (TIP). TIP offers a framework for action that outlines impactful pathways for the tyre sector to contribute to the ambitions of the SDGs. To learn more about how Klean's approach, solutions, and technologies contribute to advancing the SDGs please review the report "Sustainability Driven: Accelerating Impact with the Tyre Sector SDG Roadmap". See: https://www.wbcsd.org/Sector-Projects/Tire-Industry-Project/End-of-Life-Tires-ELTs