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ANRPC’s August 2026 statistical report forecasts global natural rubber production at 15.039 million tonnes for the year, up just 0.6% from 14.952 million tonnes in 2025, while demand is projected to reach 15.356 million tonnes, an increase of 0.4% from 15.301 million tonnes. This implies a potential annual supply-demand gap of around 317,000 tonnes. Production in August itself was estimated at 1.396 million tonnes, 4.51% below the 1.462 million tonnes recorded a year earlier. With tire production remaining one of the principal drivers of natural rubber consumption, the figures underline continuing pressure on the global tire raw material supply chain and reinforce interest in resource efficiency, tire life extension and circular material strategies.

The latest Top 10 Elastomers for Sustainability ranking has added three new projects focused on improving the environmental profile of the rubber, elastomers and tire industries. The Elastomers for Sustainability, or E4S, ranking tracks materials-science and related developments that could support sustainability, recycling and circular economy goals in the global rubber sector.

Until now, the certification value of ELT-derived TPO has often been discussed primarily in terms of its biogenic share. This share is primarily linked to natural rubber used in tires and can be supported by 14C testing. That pathway remains relevant. But it did not fully address the larger commercial question: what about the fossil carbon in tires that is not bio-based, but is nevertheless recovered from a waste stream?

Linglong Tire resented its latest sustainable concept tire during the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Annual Meeting held in Montreux, Switzerland, highlighting the company’s ongoing efforts to expand the use of renewable and recycled materials in tire manufacturing.

The development was discussed during RubberCon 2026, held in Paris on April 28-29, where Tyres Europe Secretary General Adam McCarthy stated that EU member states had granted the European Commission permission to initiate the withdrawal process. Europe is understood to be the largest financial contributor to the IRSG, making the potential exit a significant development for the international rubber industry body.

For the tire pyrolysis industry, this is a highly positive and important step forward. It creates a clearer certification route for the fossil share of ELT-derived tire pyrolysis oil (TPO), complementing the established relevance of the biogenic share, which is linked mainly to natural rubber content.

For more than a decade, the European tire pyrolysis sector has lived with a paradox. Technically, pyrolysis (or pyrolysis) of end-of-life tires (ELTs) has demonstrated its ability to recover valuable hydrocarbons and return them to the chemical value chain. Legally, however, the main product – tire pyrolysis oil (TPO) – often remained burdened with the classification of “waste,” even when it was demonstrably used as a substitute for fossil feedstocks in petrochemical applications. This legal ambiguity has been one of the central barriers to industrial scale-up, financing, and long-term offtake agreements.

A recent report by NITI Aayog, Enhancing Circular Economy of Waste Tyres in India, outlines how India can transform its growing end-of-life tire (ELT) challenge into a strategic opportunity for circular economy development, resource security, and emissions reduction.

While resource circulation has advanced for materials such as steel and plastic, rubber remains difficult to recycle, and waste rubber is usually incinerated for thermal energy recovery. Recycling rubber requires devulcanization, a process in which heat and pressure break the sulfur bonds that give rubber its elasticity. However, this process also breaks other chemical bonds, resulting in reduced strength and leaving behind characteristic odors—long-standing challenges in rubber recycling.