Tyre fly tipping increased by a quarter in last year

Rise occurred during period when fewer miles were driven and new tyres bought

Tyre fly tipping increased by a quarter in last year
Image: Bigstock.

The number of incidents of tyres being fly tipped has risen by a quarter in the last year, according to analysis of new government data by Kwik Fit.

The increase occurred despite to a fall of 21 per cent in the total number of miles driven during the pandemic and fewer replacement tyres being fitted.

Figures from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) show that the number of incidents of the fly tipping of tyres reported to local authorities in England has risen from 12,076 in 2019-20 to 15,076 in 2020-21, an increase of 25 per cent.

The figure is even more striking when considering that the tyre industry reported a decrease in sales of replacement tyres between the two years of around 14 per cent.

In the North West region the number of incidents rose by 80 per cent, and in the West Midlands by 67 per cent.

Related: Landmark case sees car owner jailed for failing to replace worn tyres before fatal crash

Kwik Fit’s analysis of the Defra data shows that in only one English region did the number of incidents fall over the last year – the East of England saw a 5 per cent decrease.

Although the past decade had seen a steady reduction in the cases of tyres being illegally dumped, even before the pandemic the figure remained stubbornly high, equivalent to around 35 incidents per day. The figures cannot be directly compared due to changes on reporting methods, but the latest data indicates that around eight years progress has been lost with incidents at a similar level to 2012/13.

Roger Griggs, communications director at Kwik Fit, said: “There is absolutely no excuse for a tyre to be fly tipped.

“Tyre dealers must ensure that used tyres are dealt with by a registered waste company and those companies have a duty to process them responsibly.

“Although they need to be covered by a ‘waste’ licence, used tyres still have value as a raw material and therefore it makes even less sense for them to be fly tipped.”

Related: Workshop fined £28K after employees suffered serious burns in explosion

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