Tyre and Rubber Recycling has been contacted by a few tyre collectors who have reported that Stapletons are collecting tyres for free
Several collectors have lost customers to this collection service, and it is disrupting their market. However disruption of the export market is perhaps exactly what is needed.
Speaking with Mark Hetherington, Commercial Director at Credential Environmental, part of the same group as Stapletons, Tyre and Rubber Recycling got the story from the other side of the fence.
Hetherington was clear that Stapletons were indeed collecting tyres. However, although they were baled, they were only baled for transport to processing for TDF or other end products in the UK. “We absolutely do not export tyres,” said Hetherington.
It has long been argued that wholesalers ought to be utilising return capacity to collect tyres from their clients. If done on a one in one out basis, that goes a long way to addressing rogue collections.
Hetherington could not say exactly what the economics of the collection service from Stapletons were, but he did take time to explain that the export of tyres from the UK had put a strain on the feedstock for UK operations, Credential, like many others were struggling to obtain the feedstock they needed. This was an issue reported to Tyre and Rubber Recycling in 2023 by several larger operators.
The security of feedstock has been an issue for some up and comping pyrolysis projects in the UK. Wastefront had to sign a feedstock deal with Dubai-based Gateway to ensure their feedstock for the upcoming Sunderland plant.
The ETEL Group is in a position to take better control over its ELT feedstock by using its distribution network as a collection service.
The feedstock shortage for recyclers (as opposed to collectors) is a growing issue throughout Europe and even in the USA. At the recent AZuR retread event in Germany, retreaders were bemoaning the lack of casings because there were huge volumes being baled and shipped out of the country rather than valorising and recycling and retreading in Germany. AZuR has been campaigning for restrictions on exports, and improved support for retreading and recycling.
At the recent Tyre Recovery Association Forum, the same issue was discussed and there were also calls for better enforcement of the waste rules in both the UK and in India.
Hetherington did comment that since the collectors shipping tyres out in containers were paid by the containerload, they could, potentially, collect for free.
There is a tide of change coming to tyre recycling in the UK: This collection of tyres by Stapletons is just one indicator of change.
