Aggregate Industries claims to be:
... a progressive, future-facing business. A company that is intrinsically sustainable - trusted and respected by stakeholders and the communities in which we operate.
Fine words, but in the real world the company's scheme at Straitgate Farm will see as-dug aggregate hauled 23 miles between quarry face and processing plant, more than any other UK quarry operation, some 2.5 million HGV miles in all.
So, unless Aggregate Industries' HGVs magically run without tyres, Devon communities will pay the price.
Health impact of tyre particles causing ‘increasing concern’, say scientists https://t.co/8zMT8McSeq
— The Guardian (@guardian) February 23, 2023
The warning follows UK government data that shows significantly more tiny pollution particles now come from tyre erosion than are emitted from vehicle exhausts. The report estimates 52% of all the small particle pollution from road transport came from tyre and brake wear in 2021, plus a further 24% from abrasion of roads and their paint markings. Just 15% of the emissions came from the exhausts of cars and a further 10% from the exhausts of vans and HGVs.
Forget Dieselgate — a bigger emissions problem hides in plain sight https://t.co/eKCHnRdThJ
— Financial Times (@FT) October 30, 2023
As we drive, our tyres wear down and release invisible particles that we inhale and ultimately ingest. Strikingly, the rate of release of these particles is almost 2,000 times greater than the mass of particles from a modern exhaust pipe. It looks likely, then, that these apparently mundane yet economically vital and technically sophisticated products are a source of pollution that will make Dieselgate — the exhaust emissions cheating scandal of 2015 — look minor. The difference? No rules are being broken, yet current US and EU polices promoting battery electric vehicles through subsidies are set to make the problem worse.
