Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to prevent microplastics from tyre degradation from flowing into rivers and seas.

A Defra-funded study concluded that particles released from vehicle tyres during use could be a significant and previously unrecorded source of microplastics in the marine environment. This research advanced understanding of ways in which microplastics enter the marine environment and highlighted the complex problem of microplastic pollution to the marine environment from various sources and pathways.

The Department for Transport is currently commissioning research to better understand tyre and brake wear emissions from road vehicles. It is anticipated that the knowledge developed in this project will lay the foundation for improved ways to assess and control these emissions.