After almost 40 years in tyre sales and distribution, Brett Emerson is applying his commercial know-how to end-of-life tyres at BIG ATOM. Speaking to Tyre News Media, Emerson argues that digital vouchers and auditable data flows can give manufacturers and wholesalers “plug-in compliance” while tightening the industry’s recycling loop.
Emerson says the aim is simple: turn waste movements into transparent datasets that brands and dealers can trust. “Our digital voucher system lets manufacturers and wholesalers fund, track and verify a casing’s journey from removal to recycling,” he said. In practice, each voucher travels with the tyre through garages, collectors and processors, creating an audit trail that can be surfaced in OEM and wholesaler portals.
BIG ATOM has begun manufacturer trials and is building partner coverage across collections and processing. Emerson describes the proposition as an “added-value bolt-on” to product programmes, giving retail customers a recovery option that can be evidenced to ESG teams and compliance auditors.
The pitch lands as policy tightens. The UK’s digital waste tracking plans move the sector toward mandatory, electronic records of waste movements. Timelines have shifted, but the direction is clear. Earlier this month we reported on BIG ATOM’s digital tracking launch, which logs tyres from removal to verified processing and is designed to integrate with partner systems.
For wider policy context, see our explainer on the government’s delay to digital waste tracking to 2026. On the regulatory side, government papers continue to point to electronic tracking and tighter oversight of tyre treatment and exports (see GOV.UK guidance on waste crime reforms and electronic tracking)
For brands, traceability data can underpin stewardship claims, support extended-producer-responsibility discussions and reduce exposure to illegal disposal risks. For wholesalers and dealer networks, vouchers can be packaged with new-tyre programmes to provide a clear route for casings and a record that stands up to audit.
“My first impression of BIG ATOM is a team that’s relentlessly service-focused,” Emerson said. “The traceability of each casing gives customers peace of mind, and the approach is setting new standards for compliance and sustainability.”
The UK and European ELT landscape is diversifying. Michelin and Murfitts’ Stoke project aims to capture rCB and tyre-derived oil at scale, while Wastefront’s Sunderland plant targets TPO for fuels. On the continent, Pyrum Innovations continues to expand thermolysis capacity and will showcase rCB in Barcelona, and VTTI’s TyreLoop Antwerp has opened a tyre-derived-oil offtake consultation, together underlining a market moving from pilots to bankable offtake.
For brands, auditable ELT data can support stewardship claims, ESG reporting and risk management around illegal disposal. For wholesalers and dealer networks, vouchers can be bundled with product programmes to provide a clear recovery route, and an evidential trail that stands up to audit. As compliance deadlines firm up, Emerson expects more proofs-of-concept through 2026.
For more information, visit BIG ATOM at https://www.bigatom.co/
Tagged with: digital waste tracking, tyre recycling, end-of-life tyres, DEFRA compliance, digital vouchers, traceability, Environment Agency checks, circular economy, recovered carbon black, pyrolysis, tyre recovery, UK tyre industry
Disclaimer: This content may include forward-looking statements. Views expressed are not verified or endorsed by Tyre News Media.
