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Austria generates around 70,000 tonnes of end-of-life tires each year. Approximately half of this volume is now materially recovered. A central role in this effort is played by KIAS Recycling GmbH in Ohlsdorf, Upper Austria, which operates the country’s only facility dedicated to material tire recycling. As a partner in the AZuR network, KIAS processes up to 30,000 tonnes of used tires annually from both Austria and neighboring regions.

On World Recycling Day, Spain’s Tratamiento Neumáticos Usados (TNU) warned that despite 100% of collected end-of-life tires being recycled, the country still lacks a complete circular economy for tires. While Spain excels in collection and treatment, the weak market demand for recycled products and limited green public procurement policies are stalling progress.

The German Rubber Industry Association (WDK) is urging European and national lawmakers to implement a harmonized and legally binding End-of-Waste (EoW) framework for used tires and recycled rubber materials. The call is part of a broader push to strengthen the circular economy in the tire and rubber sector, reduce regulatory uncertainty, and facilitate investment in recycling infrastructure.

Tyros B.V., a start-up specializing in end-of-life tire recycling, is set to launch a 2-hectare pyrolysis plant at the Port of Ostend, Belgium. Backed by €1 million in strategic ecological support from the Flanders regional government, the company is investing in an electric pyrolysis reactor capable of processing 9,125 tonnes of rubber granulate annually into recovered carbon black, pyrolysis oil, and syngas.

ELTs make up nearly 2% of the total global waste, and an estimated one billion ELTs are discarded yearly. This waste flow is growing dramatically year after year. But businesses follow circular economy principles, they begin to view this trash as an opportunity. Through chemical pyrolysis, ELTs can be broken down into reusable commodities like recovered Carbon Black, recovered Pyrolysis Oil, and recovered Steel.

The third scientific AZuR Colloquium took place on October 10, 2024, on the Jülich campus of the Aachen University of Applied Sciences (FH Aachen) with high participation. Forty scientists from various universities, institutes, and disciplines came together to discuss current research findings and projects related to the sustainable reuse and recycling of end-of-life tires. The agenda included workshops, discussion panels, and keynote presentations on topics such as the pyrolytic utilization of end-of-life tire granulate, the use of old rubber granulates in flood protection, and the future of recovered carbon black (rCB) as a sustainable filler.

For too long, end-of-life tires (ELTs) have been treated as trash and discarded. ELTs make up nearly 2% of the total global waste, and an estimated one billion ELTs are discarded yearly. This waste flow is growing dramatically year after year. But businesses follow circular economy principles, they begin to view this trash as an opportunity. Through chemical pyrolysis, ELTs can be broken down into reusable commodities like recovered Carbon Black, recovered Pyrolysis Oil, and recovered Steel.

Amid the latest news about the intention of the EU Commission to ban sales of rubber granulate as infill for artificial turf pitches as of 2031, Genan – one of the largest end-of-life tire recycling companies in the world – releases the Letter of Information and detailed Q&A where the company explains what is happening with rubber infill.

Zeppelin Systems entered into another important partnership in the mechanical recycling sector on February 7, 2023. The Italian Technology group formed by RubberJet and Vertech specialized in recycling particularly large scrap tires, for example from trucks and construction and mining machinery. High-quality rubber recyclates are made from scrap tires measuring up to four meters in size, which can later be used to manufacture new tires. According to Zeppelin Systems, the patented and proprietary method is 100% environmentally friendly. According to current figures from the AZuR network (innovation forum for scrap tire recycling, of which Zeppelin Systems is a member), around 3.5 million tons of scrap tires are generated in Europe each year. In Germany alone, around 550,000 tons of scrap tires were accrued in 2021. If every scrap tire in Europe was recycled, around 2.45 million tons of CO2 emissions would be saved.