News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

Spanish recycling machinery manufacturer Tallants Navarro has completed its planned brand transition and will now operate exclusively under the commercial name Recycla. The company, part of Grupo Soledad, had been using the Tallants Navarro and Recycla names in parallel while gradually introducing the new identity to international markets. The transition creates a single brand for the company’s activities in waste treatment technology, machinery manufacturing and cutting-component development. Recycla supplies industrial shredding systems and related equipment for processing end-of-life tires, plastics, wood and other waste materials, combining machinery manufacturing with Grupo Soledad’s practical experience in tire recycling. The completed rebranding is intended to strengthen the company’s international presence while providing a clearer identity around recycling technology and material recovery.

Continental has begun integrating recovered carbon black into selected conveyor belt compounds at its North American plants as part of efforts to reduce reliance on fossil-based raw materials and increase circular material use in industrial rubber products. The company is sourcing rCB from Bolder Industries, which produces the material from end-of-life, post-consumer and post-industrial rubber, including discarded tires, through thermal pyrolysis. Continental says approximately 157,000 pounds of recovered carbon black were used in its North American conveyor belt production over the past 12 months, replacing a portion of virgin carbon black and avoiding an estimated 487 metric tons of CO₂-equivalent emissions. Production trials have also indicated that the rCB-containing compounds can maintain comparable material costs, processing characteristics and performance, supporting the potential for recovered carbon black from tire recycling and other rubber waste streams to enter demanding industrial applications at commercial scale.

Waste Energy Corp. is advancing two expansion initiatives aimed at increasing its tire processing capacity and building a larger waste recycling and resource recovery platform in the United States. The company has signed a non-binding letter of intent for the potential acquisition of an established tire processing operation together with approximately 10 acres of industrial property and associated operating assets. Waste Energy estimates that, if completed and operated at anticipated levels, the business could process approximately 3 million to 5 million tires annually and generate between $3 million and $5 million in annual revenue. At the same time, the company says its previously announced expansion of its Midland, Texas waste conversion campus remains on track, while final commissioning continues on its initial waste conversion system. Together, the initiatives would expand Waste Energy beyond a single facility by adding tire handling capacity, industrial real estate, operating infrastructure and additional potential revenue streams.

A Sunshine Coast Council road trial in Queensland has demonstrated that crumb rubber produced from off-the-road tires can be used in asphalt and bitumen applications with performance comparable to conventional tire-derived crumb rubber, while a new lifecycle assessment indicates potential greenhouse gas savings when the modified pavement achieves a longer service life. The demonstration used crumb rubber produced entirely from OTR tires sourced from local construction equipment and incorporated it into several pavement treatments across Perlan Street, Railway Parade and Spalls Road. Twelve-month performance results found that OTR crumb rubber could be substituted for conventional crumb rubber without significant changes to asphalt production or placement, while laboratory testing indicated improved resistance to aging and environmental cracking. A 2026 lifecycle assessment by the National Transport Research Organisation found that although some crumb rubber-modified pavements have higher initial embodied emissions, longer service life and reduced maintenance could lower whole-of-life greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20% under the scenarios studied.

Pyrum Innovations AG has introduced a new corporate identity intended to reflect its development from a tire recycling company into a broader technology provider for circular raw materials. The rebranding includes a new logo, revised corporate design, a redesigned website and the new claim “Rethink Resources,” which the company says expresses its focus on recovering valuable raw materials from waste and returning them to industrial production cycles. Pyrum positions its proprietary thermolysis technology at the center of this strategy, using it to process end-of-life tires and certain plastics into products including tire-derived oil and recovered carbon black. The new identity is also intended to support Pyrum’s international expansion and the scaling of its technology as the company develops additional recycling projects and partnerships in Europe.

The municipality of Posadas, Argentina, removed 8,523 end-of-life tires from tire shops during the first half of 2026 as part of its ongoing campaign to reduce breeding sites for Aedes aegypti, the mosquito responsible for transmitting dengue. The municipal operation covered 120 tire businesses across all 12 administrative delegations of the city and involved 111 collection days between January and June, averaging almost 330 tires removed per week. Authorities identified waste tires as a priority public health concern because their shape allows rainwater to accumulate, creating favorable conditions for mosquito reproduction. The program combines regular tire collection with targeted epidemiological surveillance and illustrates how organized waste tire management can support both public health and environmental objectives.

Chile’s state-owned mining company Codelco has signed an agreement with collective management system Valora Más to strengthen the collection, recycling and valorization of end-of-life tires generated across its mining operations. The partnership covers category A tires with rim diameters below 57 inches, including tires from light vehicles and equipment supporting mining activities, and operates within Chile’s Extended Producer Responsibility framework under Law No. 20.920. The agreement gives Codelco two routes for managing these tires: transferring them directly to Valora Más for recycling at no cost, or documenting tires recycled through Codelco and authorized waste managers and assigning those verified tonnes to Valora Más in return for an agreed payment per kilogram. At Codelco’s El Teniente Division, more than 1,500 tonnes of category A waste tires have already been recorded as properly recovered under the new reporting system, demonstrating how traceability and producer responsibility mechanisms can create both environmental and economic value from tire recycling in the mining sector.

The UK Environment Agency has reported progress in its enhanced monitoring of waste tire exports from England, while warning that significant compliance gaps remain. According to an August 2026 update covering information notices issued between October 1, 2025 and July 31, 2026, the regulator had received details of 10,822 waste tire shipments by August 3. Of the 5,819 shipments that had reached the 16-week deadline for evidence confirming arrival at their intended destination, 3,837 shipments, or 62.12%, were recorded as fully or partially compliant, while 1,091 shipments, or 17.66%, were classified as non-compliant. Full compliance increased from 7.25% in early May to 15.67% by August 3. The Environment Agency has now moved exporters onto an interim compliance system ahead of digital waste tracking planned for 2027, while enforcement against operators with persistently poor performance has included fixed penalties, prohibition notices and formal warnings.

Nexera Energy is moving forward with a proposed transformation from oil and gas exploration and production into an industrial business focused on end-of-life tire recycling through pyrolysis. The Calgary- and San Antonio-based company intends to file a Change of Business application with the TSX Venture Exchange as it works to establish a new platform in tire recycling and resource recovery. The strategy is progressing alongside a broader financial and regulatory restructuring aimed at restoring full trading, completing outstanding financial reporting and substantially reducing legacy debt. Nexera has negotiated with creditors to eliminate most of its debt through forgiveness and potential conversion into equity, while the Alberta Securities Commission has granted a partial revocation of an existing cease trade order that allows the company to pursue a private placement of up to $320,000. The proposed tire pyrolysis business remains subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval and other regulatory requirements.