As per The Guardian, UK government data estimates that for 2021, 52% of small particle pollution in transport were a result of tire and brake wear.

Additionally, roads and paint degradation contributed with a further 24%, while only 15% of transport's total emissions came from car exhaust pipes.

The EU is looking to enforce a new law that would limit the emissions coming from tires, which should take effect sometime in 2025.

Dr Zhengchu Tan, at Imperial’s department of mechanical engineering, says that "tyre wear particles pollute the environment, the air we breathe, and the water run-off from roads."

"Even if all our vehicles eventually become powered by electricity instead of fossil fuels, we will still have harmful pollution from vehicles because of tyre wear", she added.

The Tyre Collective is a British startup that acknowledges the issue posed by tire wear, which is why the team there has developed the first device in the world that is able to capture tire leftovers.