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In Episode 83, Scott Gerber, Program Director of the Better Play Initiative (BPI), discusses the organisation’s work on the safe and sustainable use of recycled rubber in sports and playground surfaces. He outlines key findings from independent and government studies, including research from the EPA and CalEPA, which have not identified significant health risks associated with crumb rubber infill.

Professional motorsport events generate large volumes of used tires, and in the United States, NASCAR—one of the country’s largest and most popular racing organizations—has established a recycling system to manage this waste sustainably. In each NASCAR race, high-performance race cars can require 9 to 14 tire changes, leading to tens of thousands of tires being used across a single racing season.

In 2024, Tire Stewardship BC (TSBC), in partnership with Liberty Tire, coordinated 20 tire collection events across British Columbia (BC). These events successfully collected 14,221 orphan tires. This achievement was made possible through collaboration with community groups, regional districts, municipalities, and Return-to-Retailer locations (R2Rs).

Tennessee is seeing positive results from test strips of rubber modified asphalt (RMA) on roadways in Blount County. The 3.3 miles of road in the county paved with RMA last year are demonstrating greater longevity with reduced road noise and water splash back, in addition to diverting thousands of end-of-life tires from the waste stream.

Decades of partnership between Liberty Tire Recycling - a prominent nation-wide network of tire recycling facilities in the United States – and Walmart demonstrate a prime example of circularity. Liberty Tire Recycling reports that the tires they collect from Walmart and Sam's Club Service Centers are repurposed into recycled rubber products, like rubber mulch and garden edging, that go right back onto shelves at those stores.

The rubber recycling industry is undergoing significant changes due to environmental concerns and technological advancements. As John Sheerin, senior director end-of-life tire programs at the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA), explained, in 2024 USTMA will begin preparation of their 2023 U.S. Scrap Tire Management Report, which will provide additional important insights and update the findings from the organization’s 2021 report.

Liberty Tire Recycling recently published its ESG Report. Liberty says its ESG Zero Waste Goal requires digging deep to uncover every opportunity to increase circularity within our business model and the recycling industry.

The U.S. generates around 300 million scrap tires annually, with many repurposed as ground material rubber. The industry is transitioning, favoring increased use of ground tire rubber in molded goods and landscaping mulch. John Sheerin, director, End-of-Life Tire Programs at the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA), sais that the tire recycling industry is in a state of transition. As he explained, there is a distinct trend towards increased utilization of ground tire rubber in new products like molded and extruded goods and landscaping mulch.

On January 5, Liberty Tire Recycling announced the acquisition of “Empire Tire of Edgewater” in Orlando, Florida and “McGee Tire” located in Apopka, Florida. Liberty’s acquisition of Empire and McGee — leading central-Florida scrap tire collectors, graders, and haulers — expands the company's already robust footprint in the state into the growing central Florida market. Liberty will build on the success of these two companies by bringing its industry-leading approach to collections, processing, and recycling of end-of-life tires.