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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her timetable is for laying statutory instruments to withdraw the T8 waste exemption for end-of-life tyres announced in August 2025; and what steps her Department is taking to support the circular economy in the context of unused licensed domestic tyre reprocessing capacity.

Defra is finalising the drafting of the legislation to withdraw the T8 waste exemption for end-of-life tyres, and it will be laid in parliament when parliamentary time allows.

Regarding domestic reprocessing, there are a range of options for recycling tyres including the granulation of tyres for incorporation into carpet underlay, for sports and safety surfaces, as well as use as a fuel in cement kilns. The Government is committed to the wider transition towards a circular economy where resources are kept in use for longer and waste is designed out.