Tyre Pollution in the UK’s Rivers: Evenlode Case Study

25th March 2025

In January 2025, Earthwatch, working with Emissions Analytics and the Evenlode Catchment Partnership, conducted ground-breaking citizen science research along the Evenlode river catchment. This research demonstrated, unequivocally, that chemicals from tyres are entering our freshwater system – mapping their journey from road to river.

Key findings

• In this report we build the evidence base for which compounds are found in tyres and which of them travel from road to river
• 995 unique organic chemical compounds were detected across all samples
• Eleven novel tyre compounds – never clearly evidenced before in the literature as coming from tyres – were detected across all locations
• The chemical compositions polluting the Evenlode differ between locations; but all contain a mix of chemicals known to be toxic to aquatic life; those with the potential to bioaccumulate; and those which are known carcinogens
• Most chemicals analysed for this report were found within rivers at concentrations that could pose risk to aquatic life according to the NORMAN Ecotoxicology Database
• We are particularly concerned by the levels of methylene chloride and n-hexane – two toxic chemicals – running from roads to rivers across this catchment