News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

The City of Richland, Washington, has approved a service agreement with Liberty Tire Recycling to remove what local officials describe as the largest waste tire pile in the state. The stockpile occupies roughly five acres at 2990 Twin Bridges Road and contains about 280,000 cubic feet of loose and baled tires. The city estimates the site may hold as many as 1.471 million tires, while Liberty Tire Recycling puts the figure at around 1.5 million tires weighing approximately 15,600 tons. The project is backed by $3.2 million in state funding and will require the recovered material to be transported to authorized recycling or disposal facilities with full documentation, creating one of Washington’s largest current waste tire remediation projects.

The Sindh Environmental Protection Agency has shut down 13 tire pyrolysis units in Pakistan’s Sindh province as part of an intensified enforcement campaign against facilities operating illegally or in violation of environmental regulations. Eight plants were closed in Keamari district and another five in the Ghaghar Phatak, Dewan Cement Road and Bin Qasim Town areas of Malir district. The action followed directives from Sindh Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah to inspect tire pyrolysis plants across the province and take action against unauthorized or non-compliant operators. Sindh authorities said the campaign is being conducted under the provincial government’s ban on the establishment and operation of tire pyrolysis plants and is focused on air emissions, industrial pollution and compliance with environmental safeguards. The enforcement highlights the distinction between controlled tire recycling and pyrolysis operations with appropriate emission treatment and unregulated plants that can generate significant environmental and health risks.

Tess Munt MP used the Tyre Recovery Association Briefing Day 2026 in Coventry to call for tighter regulation of end-of-life tire exports, stronger enforcement of digital waste tracking and greater use of green public procurement to support the UK tire recycling and retreading sector. Speaking to more than 100 representatives from tire recovery, retreading, retail, manufacturing, regulation and trade associations, the MP for Wells and Mendip Hills argued that current policy allows large volumes of whole waste tires to leave the UK while significant licensed domestic recycling and remanufacturing capacity remains unused. Her proposals included removing T8 waste exemptions, introducing a shred-only export model similar to Australia’s, requiring verifiable proof of arrival for exported tires and setting procurement requirements for retreaded tires and rubberized asphalt. The event also featured discussion of UK road conditions, rubber-modified asphalt and domestic circular economy capacity, with participation from the TRA, NTDA, BTMA and ITMA.

Covestro has opened a new pilot plant at its Leverkusen site in Germany to advance the chemical recycling of high-performance polyurethane elastomers from laboratory development toward industrial application. The double-digit million-euro project focuses initially on selected end-of-life Vulkollan® materials, which are used in applications such as forklift wheels, railway buffer elements, automotive jounce bumpers and vibration-control components. Covestro says its process can recycle more than 90% of the selected material by mass by breaking the elastomer down into purified chemical building blocks for reuse, while reducing the carbon footprint by up to two thirds compared with fossil-based virgin material. The pilot facility will be used to test different waste streams, refine process conditions and generate data for future scale-up, while Covestro works with customers, recyclers, waste collectors and logistics providers to establish the collection and return systems needed for closed-loop elastomer recycling.

Kumtor Gold Company has officially launched a tire recycling plant in Tokmok, Chui region, marking what local reports describe as the first facility of its kind in Kyrgyzstan. The plant began operating in test mode in August 2023 and was formally inaugurated in September 2026, with President Sadyr Japarov joining the ceremony online. The project combines tire recycling and tire restoration in two separate workshops and is intended to reduce the amount of end-of-life tires sent to uncontrolled disposal while creating domestic outlets for recycled rubber. At full operation, the facility is expected to produce up to 6,000 tonnes of rubber crumb per year for applications including rubber tiles, mats and safety surfaces for sports and children’s playgrounds. The project represents a significant step in developing Kyrgyzstan’s tire recycling infrastructure and creating a more circular use of rubber resources.

Fornnax Technologies will showcase its R-MAX3300 secondary shredder at IFAT India 2026, taking place from September 9 to 11 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai. The company says the machine is the world’s biggest secondary and fine shredder and is engineered for high-capacity alternative fuel and raw material pre-processing. Designed for applications including end-of-life tires, municipal solid waste, e-waste, cable waste and other complex material streams, the R-MAX3300 is intended to produce a consistent 50–80 mm output for cement and waste-to-energy applications. With a 3,300 mm rotor length, 1,145 mm rotor diameter and processing capacity of 30 to 70 tonnes per hour depending on input material and screen size, the equipment is positioned for large-scale recycling operations seeking higher throughput, reliable pre-processing and lower cost per tonne.

TNU says tire recycling alone is no longer enough to complete the circular economy unless recovered materials return to the market and replace virgin raw materials. In an article by Javier de Jesús Landesa, Operational Director of Tratamiento de Neumáticos Usados, the Spanish collective system argues that public procurement can become one of the strongest tools for creating stable demand for materials recovered from end-of-life tires. Spain already has a consolidated tire management system and an industry capable of converting used tires into rubber, steel, textile fibers and other secondary raw materials. However, TNU says the main challenge is now commercial and industrial: recycled rubber, retreaded tires, recovered carbon black and other tire-derived materials need markets large enough to absorb them and recognize their technical, environmental and economic value.

Kentucky reported a statewide waste tire recycling rate of 77.4% for fiscal year 2025, slightly below the 78.2% reported in 2024 and close to the most recent US national average cited in the state’s Waste Tire Program Annual Report. The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet said residents generated an estimated 59,100 tons of waste tires in 2025, equivalent to about 4.2 million passenger tire equivalents. The Commonwealth and county governments managed about 15.1% of that total, while the private sector accounted for the remaining 84.9%. The report highlights the continuing role of the Waste Tire Trust Fund in collection events, county grants, crumb rubber and tire-derived product grants, rubber modified asphalt projects and market development, while also warning that tire-derived fuel markets face pressure from reduced solid fuel use, low-cost natural gas and broader changes in manufacturing and energy markets.

TSA has opened Round 4 of its Market Development Fund, with applications available from September 1 to October 6 for projects that increase real-world use of Australian tire-derived material. The fund offers grants of up to $300,000 for eligible applicants across Australia and supports projects that move tire-derived material from concept to practical market use. TSA says the program is designed to build stronger long-term demand for material recovered from end-of-life tires by backing product innovation, infrastructure trials, local manufacturing and applied research. The fund is open through two streams: Demonstration & Infrastructure Projects and Research & Development. Supported activities must use Australian-sourced tire-derived material and demonstrate commercial, environmental or community value.