Following the confirmation from the UK Government that the new waste exemption reforms subject to parliamentary approval and due for potential implementation on January the 6th would end the T8 exemption, Tyre & Rubber Recycling sought clarification from the EA regarding the appropriate permit for entry-level tyre recyclers.
SR 2021 No.13 Confirmed as T8 Substitute
Matthew Kendall, a Senior Advisor to the EA, who recently presented at the TRA’s Briefing Day in September discussed future permitting procedures for the tyre recycling sector and did clarify that operators would need a standard rules or bespoke permit in the future without confirming the appropriate permit.
Standard rules permit SR 2021 No.13 has been on the books for a number of years now and was recently updated in February 2026. We have restated the conditions for a SR 2021 No.13 permit at the end of this article. As such we asked the EA to confirm if this permit was an acceptable substitute for the T8 to which we received the following response: “I can confirm that the permit SR 2021 No.13 is the acceptable substitute to the T8 exemption provided that the operator can meet these conditions.”
The news will come as a relief to T8 operators or individuals looking for an entry level option into the sector with the alternative requiring huge investment on premises and equipment, an option which evidently does not encourage recycling.
Operators applying for SR 2021 No.13 will need to comply with the following conditions and rules:
No more than 5,000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres can be accepted at the site each year. No more than 100 tonnes of end-of-life tyres can be stored at any one time.
End-of-life tyres may be stored outside. Treatment of end-of-life tyres must be carried out in a building, except for the manual sorting of tyre casings. Treatment must be for the purpose of recovery of the waste, and is limited to manual sorting, granulating, baling, peeling, shaving, shredding, cutting, repairing and retreading.
The site must be a minimum distance from certain types of sensitive areas and sites. It cannot be within:
- 200 metres of a European site, Ramsar, Site of Special Scientific Interest or Marine Conservation Zone
- 50 metres of a National Nature Reserve, Local Nature Reserve, Local Wildlife Site, Ancient woodland or Scheduled Monument
- 50 metres of a site that has species or habitats of principle importance (as listed in Section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006) that the Environment Agency considers at risk to this activity, these are also often referred to as priority habitats and species
- 50 metres of any well, spring or borehole used for the supply of water for human consumption, including private water supplies
- a groundwater source protection zone 1
