Most people overlook the damage tyres can do to health and environment, believing pollution comes only from tailpipes.
Tyres now pose the greatest source of emissions from in-use vehicles, according to Emissions Analytics CEO Nick Molden.
After testing real-world tailpipe output from hundreds of cars and analysing emissions from over 500 different tyres, his company warns that electric vehicles, being around 25% heavier, produce roughly 25% more tyre particulates.
Tyre wear releases about 100 mg of particles per kilometre, comprising microplastics and ultrafine nanoscale dust that lingers in the air, penetrates deep into lungs and can enter the bloodstream and brain.
These ultrafine emissions are currently unregulated, meaning local air quality indices that measure PM10 and PM2.5 may vastly underestimate the true health risk.
Moreover, the chemical compounds in tyre debris may be toxic to soil, water and living organisms, though their environmental fate remains poorly understood.
Molden urges urgent collaborative research between academia, industry and regulators.
UK-based Emissions Analytics publishes a quarterly “Tyre Insights” report to share findings, and will host the Tyre Emissions & Sustainability 2026 conference to foster partnerships and establish best practices.
