Over the past decade, the Indian automobile industry has registered consistent growth and become the world’s third-largest automobile market. The growth also means the number of end-of-life tyres has increased in India.
However, the poor implementation of standards, guidelines, and rules for ensuring waste tyres are properly scrapped or recycled means doom for those involved in the process and the environment. While India struggles with its own waste tyres, it is also absorbing millions of tonnes of foreign waste tyres, and the problem has assumed dangerous proportions.
Our latest investigation reveals that the import of such waste tyres from developed countries like the United Kingdom, the USA, and Saudi Arabia has increased by nearly fivefold since 2020-21.
The result is a shadow economy of tyre trading, illegal burning, and rising environmental and health risks. Thanks to poor monitoring, these waste tyres end up in pyrolysis plants in cities across India, where they are burned with inadequate safeguards, resulting in adverse impact on the environment and communities.
The Reporters’ Collective visited a few such plants to witness where workers operate in inhumane conditions without proper safety gear and any information about the health impact.
The Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association has also warned that these imports are overburdening India’s recycling infrastructure and worsening pollution. It has urged the government to seek a solution, but the situation remains grim.
Read our latest investigation here: The Black Wind—How India is becoming the World’s Waste Tyre Furnace
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After the truth-shower 