The Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) has released the updated programme for its 2026 Briefing Day, with this year’s event set to explore the policies, technologies and market opportunities shaping the future of tyre recycling under the theme “Giving REAL Meaning to the Circular Economy”
Taking place on 15 September at the Coombe Abbey Hotel, Coventry, the annual event will bring together recyclers, regulators, policymakers and industry experts to discuss the key challenges and opportunities facing the UK’s end-of-life tyre sector.
A major focus of the programme will be rubber-modified bitumen (RMB), with a dedicated forum chaired by the RAC Foundation examining the potential for greater use of recycled tyre rubber in road construction. Industry speakers will include Luis Alfonso de León, Road and Asphalt Director at Spain’s TRS Polymers, who will provide a European perspective, and Richard Hutchins, Founder of PRG Scotland, who will address the UK’s current position.
The updated agenda also features keynote addresses from Tessa Munt MP and former Defra Secretary George Eustice, alongside presentations covering Digital Waste Tracking, the registration of carriers, brokers and dealers, market intelligence, sustainable aviation fuel, green procurement and leadership within the tyre retail sector.
Earlier this year, the TRA highlighted rubber-modified bitumen as one of the UK’s most overlooked opportunities for increasing demand for recycled tyre rubber. While millions of tonnes of rubber-modified asphalt are produced annually across mainland Europe, adoption in Britain has remained limited. The association says one of the objectives of this year’s Briefing Day is to renew industry focus on the technology and encourage greater uptake.
The event is free to attend for TRA members, regulators, media representatives and industry partners, while non-members can attend for £70 plus VAT, including refreshments and lunch. Registration is available through the TRA.
The full programme is detailed below:
09:45 REGISTRATION & COFFEE
OPENING SESSION
10:15 KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Tessa Munt MP
10:30 DIGITAL WASTE TRACKING
Tom Ellis, Environment Agency
11:00 REGISTRATION OF CARRIERS, BROKERS AND DEALERS
Susana Szlezinger Diaz, Senior Advisor Communications and Engagement Environment Agency
11:30 MARKET AND DATA INSIGHTS
Simon Hodson, Director of Analysis, Astutus Research
11:55 LEADERSHIP IN RETALING
Ian Andrew, CEO, National Tyre Distributors Association
12:30 LUNCH/NETWORKING
SESSION 2
14:00 THE CASE FOR RUBBER-MODIFIED BITUMEN
Forum Chaired by the RAC Foundation
The Continental Picture
Luis Alfonso de León, Road and Asphalt Director, TRS Polymers, Spain
Britain has a Problem?
Richard Hutchins, Founder, PRG Scotland Ltd.
14:55 OILS AND SUSTAINABLE AVIATION FUEL
15:15 PROMOTING GREEN PROCUREMENT
An agenda for the tyre industry
Giles Bancroft, Godolphin Communications
15:35 TYRE RECYCLING—IS GOVERNMENT LISTENING?
The Evidence So Far
George Eustice, Director, Penbroath Ltd. Defra Secretary of State 2020 to 2022
15:50 “VALEDICTORY”
Ewan Scott, Editor, Tyre and Rubber Recycling
16:00 CONFERENCE CONCLUDES
