There are fears that Britain could become a stockpile of used tyres with a change in the European Union (eu) directive prohibiting tyres to be dumped in landfills. Around 50 million tyres a year are discarded in Britain. It is also reported that the black market in illegal tyre disposal exposes people to health risk.

Despite the fact that 30 million tyres a year are re-used, recycled or burnt for fuel, more than 166,000 tonnes are disposed of in landfill sites every year or simply put into legal or illegal dump sites with no disposal route. The costs of legal dumping are escalating too. To dispose of a car tyre legally it costs us $1.07, while it is us $10.7 for a truck tyre.