News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

For much of its commercial development, ELT pyrolysis has been framed primarily as a liquid-oriented business. Process design, commercial discussions, and investor narratives have traditionally focused on oil yield optimization and gas utilization. Solid char, despite representing roughly 30–35% of the original tire mass, was often treated as a secondary output with limited strategic relevance. As global ELT pyrolysis capacity expands, this view is increasingly misaligned with operational reality. Char volumes are no longer marginal; they are structural. Managing char in a credible, scalable, and economically defensible manner has become a prerequisite for long-term project viability. In this sense, char is no longer a by-product to be addressed post hoc, but a core design parameter that must be integrated into project development from the outset.

Episode 6 of Video Insights by Tyre & Rubber Recycling magazine features Ankit Kalola, General Manager at Fornnax, recorded following the Recovered Carbon Black Conference in Barcelona organised by Smithers. In the interview, Kalola outlines Fornnax’s role in supplying integrated shredding and granulation systems that convert whole tyres into rubber chips and granules suitable for use as pyrolysis feedstock.

Continental’s tire manufacturing plant in Mount Vernon, Illinois, has become the company’s first facility in the United States to receive International Sustainability and Carbon Certification PLUS (ISCC PLUS). According to Continental, the certification confirms compliance with strict documentation and traceability requirements for renewable and recycled raw materials and represents an important step in the company’s global sustainability strategy.

In Episode 86 of The Tyre Recycling Podcast, Edoardo Fiore, Business Development Manager at Rover Research, discusses the company’s patented water jet technology and its application in tyre recycling and retreading. Recorded during the Round Trip Tyre and Conveyor Belt Recycling Summit in Australia, the conversation highlights how the automated system processes TBR and OTR tyres, focusing on efficient material separation and energy savings.

The 31st Annual Conference of the European Tyre Recycling Association (ETRA) will take place from 24 to 26 March 2026 at Le Louise Hotel in Brussels. The event will bring together stakeholders from across the tyre recycling and rubber value chain to discuss whether the sector’s future will be shaped by circular economy principles. The conference comes at a time of evolving policy priorities within the European Union. Following the appointment of a new European Commission in 2025, elements of the Green Deal have been reassessed, with some environmental objectives receiving less emphasis. At the same time, many of the underlying principles of sustainability and resource efficiency have become embedded in business strategies and public expectations, even as timelines and targets are adjusted.

Sumitomo Rubber Industries, under its Dunlop brand, has begun using circular carbon black produced through chemical recycling in selected mass-produced passenger car tires. Production started in November 2025 at the company’s Miyazaki plant, marking the first time this type of recycled carbon black has been adopted in Dunlop’s commercial passenger tire lineup.

The Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) has renewed its call for the UK government to introduce a ban on the export of whole and baled end-of-life tyres (ELTs), urging policymakers to adopt a regulatory approach similar to that implemented in Australia.

Ecolomondo Corporation (TSXV: ECM) (OTCQB: ECLMF), a Canadian innovator in sustainable scrap tire recycling technology, has issued stock options to employees, Board members and consultants, to purchase 1,930,000 common shares of the Company in recognition of their contribution to the Company’s and the Hawkesbury plant’s success.

Ecopneus has received the Technological Innovation award at the 20th edition of the Premio ASI Sport & Cultura, held on 20 December 2025 at the Salone d’Onore of CONI in Rome. The award recognises Ecopneus’ long-term work in developing and promoting recycled rubber applications across sports, urban infrastructure and other public uses.