Parking payments

NEARLY one ­ in ­ five UK drivers (19 per cent) say their local authority has either scrapped parking payment machines or is consulting on doing so, forcing them to use mobile phones to pay instead, new RAC research reveals.

PLANS are underway to establish the UK’s first pyrolysis plant for recycling end­of­life tyres. This innovative facility will employ patented technology to extract reusable components from scrap tyres. Pyrolysis is a process that utilises extreme heat without oxygen to break down organic compounds. This technology will effectively separate the tyres into their raw materials, including oil, carbon black, and pyrolysis gas.

SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK, the company behind the project, explains that the carbon black can be reused in manufacturing new tyres, the oil can be recycled into new products, and the pyrolysis gas can be utilised to power the plant. The implementation of Pyrum’s patented pyrolysis reactor technology is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 72 per cent compared to current recycling methods.

The UK faces a staggering annual disposal of 50 million worn­out tyres, with approximately 13.4 million being used as an alternative fuel. Additionally, the Tyre Recovery Association estimates that around 36,000 tyres are burned daily in the country. These discarded tyres are often broken down and serve as an energy­rich alternative to coal. Some are shredded and ground into crumbs for various purposes, including playgrounds, sports pitches, and road construction.

Dumping used tyres at landfill sites has been prohibited by an EU directive since the early 2000s.