A man who was illegally dumping tyres in remote locations around the UK to escape having to pay disposal costs at official waste sites has been jailed for 15 months.

The man had dumped more than one million tyres in Essex, Norfolk, Yorkshire, Worcestershire and Lincolnshire in total!

He’d been sneakily disposing of tyres in this way since October 2009.

An estimated 55 million waste tyres are got rid of legally every year in the UK, but it seems this man didn’t want to follow suit even though it only costs an average of 80p per tyre.

Skipping out on paying this small amount doesn’t really seem worth it when there’s a potential prison sentence, unlimited fines, and confiscation of profits awaiting illegal tyre-dumpers.

Not only was this man avoiding fees, but, as the head of waste and illegals as the Environment Agency stated, "Huge tyre dumps are not only an eyesore, but also present a serious risk to the environment and human health.

“Stockpiles are a significant fire risk, as they can burn for several years, releasing dangerous gases such as hydrogen sulphide, hydrogen cyanide and sulphur dioxide.”

At a hearing in 2012 the illegal tyre-dumper will get to know whether he will have the profits of his crime taken and have a fine imposed upon him on top of his prison sentence.

Labels: disposal costs, dump, fees, illegal, legal, tyre, waste