Fleet tyre management is a significant operational challenge for UK transport and logistics operators, who are among the country’s largest commercial generators of used tyres. A fleet of 100 HGVs, each running on ten or more tyre positions and replacing tyres at rates driven by mileage intensity, load patterns, and road surface conditions, can generate several hundred used tyres per month. A national distribution fleet with 500 or more vehicles generates tyre waste volumes that dwarf the output of most tyre retail operations. Managing this volume compliantly, cost-effectively, and in a way that supports the fleet operator’s sustainability commitments is a genuinely significant operational challenge.
The stakes of getting fleet tyre disposal wrong are not trivial. Duty of care obligations under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 apply to fleet operators as waste producers; transferring tyre waste to unlicensed parties creates direct legal liability. Environmental permit breaches at contractor sites used by fleet operators create reputational and compliance risk that sophisticated fleet procurement teams increasingly factor into contractor selection. And the rising cost of tyre disposal through conventional routes, driven by increasing landfill taxes, processing capacity constraints, and collection logistics costs, makes actively managing disposal economics a genuine fleet cost centre.
Gradeall International supplies tyre recycling equipment, including the truck tyre sidewall cutter, truck tyre rim separator, and MKII tyre baler, to processing operations serving the fleet sector. For the largest fleet operators considering on-site processing capability, Gradeall’s equipment provides the processing foundation for an in-house tyre management solution.
Before designing a tyre disposal solution, fleet operators need a clear picture of their tyre generation volumes by tyre type, location, and replacement pattern.
HGV and truck tyres. Heavy goods vehicle tyre replacement rates vary significantly by fleet type. Long-haul trunking fleets running on motorways generate lower wear rates per kilometre than urban distribution vehicles, which make frequent stops, starts, and tight turns. Steered axle tyres wear faster than drive axle tyres on most operations; trailer axle tyre wear varies with load patterns. A reasonable planning estimate for annual used HGV tyre generation is two to three full sets of steer axles per vehicle, one to two sets of drive axles, and one set of trailer axles, adjusted for actual mileage and duty cycle.
Van and light commercial vehicle tyres. Multi-van fleets, common in last-mile delivery, utility service, and field service operations, generate used van tyres at rates proportional to annual mileage. Urban delivery vans covering 30,000 to 50,000 kilometres annually replace tyres more frequently than motorway-intensive operations.
Site vehicles and forklifts. Logistics operations with significant site vehicle and forklift fleets generate industrial tyre waste from the handling equipment used at warehouses, distribution centres, and freight terminals. Industrial tyres differ from road vehicle tyres in composition and processing requirements; confirm appropriate processing routes for industrial tyre types with your disposal contractor.
Geographic distribution of tyre generation. National fleet operators with depots across the UK generate tyre waste at multiple geographic locations. Centralised collection from all depot locations to a single disposal contractor’s processing facility involves transport costs that affect overall disposal economics; regional contractor networks that collect from multiple depot locations within their geographic service area often reduce unit collection costs.
Fleet operators transferring used tyres must comply with the duty of care requirements of section 34 EPA 1990. The specific requirements for fleet tyre disposal are:
Waste transfer notes. Every transfer of used tyres from a fleet depot or maintenance centre to a collection contractor must be accompanied by a waste transfer note describing the waste (EWC code 16 01 03 for used tyres), the quantity transferred, the date of transfer, the identities of transferor and transferee, and the carrier registration number. WTNs must be signed by both parties and retained for two years. For fleet operations with regular collections from multiple sites, season ticket WTNs covering all qualifying transfers over a 12-month period reduce administrative burden.
Carrier registration verification. The contractor collecting used tyres must hold a valid upper-tier waste carrier registration with the Environment Agency, NIEA, SEPA, or NRW, as appropriate. Fleet procurement teams should verify contractor carrier registration status at contract award and at annual contract reviews; registration lasts three years and must be renewed. The public waste carrier registers maintained by each environment agency can be searched online.
Processing facility verification. Duty of care extends to verifying that the contractor delivers tyres to an appropriately licensed processing facility rather than stockpiling or fly-tipping. Requesting copies of the processing facility’s environmental permit and annual compliance certificates, and including processing facility details in the contractor’s service specification, provides documented evidence of due diligence.
Audit trails for sustainability reporting. Fleet operators with sustainability reporting obligations, including FTSE-listed companies subject to TCFD or CSRD requirements, need waste disposal audit trails that demonstrate compliant recycling rather than disposal. Requesting monthly recycling certificates from tyre disposal contractors, specifying the quantity of tyres processed by route (crumb rubber, civil engineering baling, TDF), provides the data needed for sustainability reporting purposes.
Fleet operators with very large centralised tyre volumes, particularly those with major logistics hubs or fleet maintenance centres generating 100 or more used HGV tyres weekly, may find on-site tyre processing economically attractive compared to contractor collection and disposal.
On-site sidewall cutting. Gradeall’s truck tyre sidewall cutter cuts truck tyres through the sidewall, collapsing them from their inflated ring shape into flat sections that pack into collection vehicles and containers at much higher density than whole tyres. A container loaded with cut tyre sections carries approximately four times the rubber weight of a container loaded with whole truck tyres. For fleet operators paying for collection by the container or by the vehicle movement, cutting tyres before collection reduces collection costs by reducing the number of movements required.
On-site rim separation. Fleet maintenance centres handling rim-on tyre removals can recover steel wheel value from used tyres using Gradeall’s truck tyre rim separator. Steel and alloy wheel scrap has commercial value that partially offsets tyre disposal costs; the rim separator automates the separation process safely and efficiently.
Full on-site baling. The largest fleet operators or logistics hub operators with tyre volumes sufficient to support a dedicated baling operation can invest in Gradeall’s MKII tyre baler for on-site bale production. PAS 108-compliant bales produced on-site can be sold to civil engineering contractors, potentially converting a disposal cost into a revenue-generating activity. This model works best for operators with both very high tyre volumes and access to civil engineering markets for bale supply.
Large fleet operators running truck tyres can reduce net tyre disposal volumes by integrating retreading into their tyre lifecycle management. Sound truck tyre casings with serviceable carcasses can be retreaded by UK retreaders including Bandvulc, Michelin Retreading, and regional retreaders, extending the tyre’s service life for a fraction of the cost of a new tyre. Only worn or damaged casings that cannot be retreaded enter the disposal stream.
Fleet tyre managers who implement systematic casing assessment at replacement identify the proportion of removed tyres suitable for retreading. Over a full fleet, even a 30 per cent retreading rate significantly reduces both tyre purchase costs and disposal volumes; some fleets achieve 50 per cent or higher retreading rates with disciplined casing management.
“Fleet tyre management is a cost centre that rewards systematic attention to disposal economics,” says Conor Murphy, Director of Gradeall International. “The combination of duty of care compliance, retreading maximisation, and where volumes justify it, on-site cutting or baling, can transform fleet tyre disposal from a passive disposal cost into a managed and partially revenue-generating process. Our equipment supports fleet operators at each stage of this progression.”
Contact Gradeall International for tyre processing equipment for fleet operators and the logistics sector.
Used tyres, including HGV tyres, are classified under European Waste Catalogue code 16 01 03 (waste tyres) regardless of vehicle type. This code should appear on all waste transfer notes for used tyre transfers. If tyres contain rims at the time of transfer, the documentation should reflect the mixed nature of the waste; confirm specific coding requirements with your Environment Agency area office if uncertain.
Fleet depots storing used tyres prior to collection may qualify for a storage exemption under the Environmental Permitting Regulations if storage quantities remain within the applicable exemption limits. The S2 exemption covers storage at the place of production; check current exemption conditions and quantity limits at gov.uk. Depots storing larger quantities require an environmental permit from the Environment Agency; confirm applicable requirements with your EA area office.
The main cost reduction levers for fleet tyre disposal are: implementing a retreading programme to reduce the number of tyres entering the disposal stream; cutting tyres on-site before collection to improve container utilisation and reduce collection movement costs; aggregating tyre volumes from multiple depot locations to negotiate better contractor rates; and for the largest fleet operators, investing in on-site baling to convert disposal costs into civil engineering bale revenue. Even implementing the first two measures typically delivers disposal cost savings of 20 to 40 per cent compared to unmanaged whole tyre collection.
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