News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

Georgia Elliott-Smith, CEO of the environmental campaign group Fighting Dirty, has urged the government to work with the TRA if they truly want the Circular Economy to happen and address the climate change crisis. In her keynote address to the TRA conference, held today in Warwickshire, Georgia Elliott-Smith encouraged the government to prioritise the regulatory reforms the Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) are calling for, welcoming the practical approach of the five-step Road to Reform published this summer.

Mathe Group, a South African radial truck tyre recycler, has announced a multi-million-rand investment in advanced equipment to recover high-quality “clean steel” from end-of-life tyres. The new systems include a steel cleaning mill with automated packaging and several state-of-the-art de-beading machines, designed to increase efficiency, improve product quality, and expand export potential.

Gunvor, one of the world’s leading independent commodities trading companies, and New Energy (member of the NE-TECH Group), a Budapest-based technology company specializing in the advanced chemical recycling of end-of-life tires, are pleased to announce the signing of a strategic collaboration agreement aimed at jointly advancing the transition toward a circular economy.

Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) has highlighted that despite major new recycling facilities in Western Australia, more than 100,000 tonnes of mining tyres are still legally buried each year. The opening of Tyrecycle’s dedicated OTR tyre recycling plant in Port Hedland demonstrates the capability of industry investment, with the site already diverting 1,500 tonnes in its first year and designed to process up to 30,000 tonnes annually.

On 10 September 2025, the European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers Association (ETRMA) issued a statement welcoming the European Parliament’s adoption of the End-of-Life Vehicle Regulation (ELVR). The association underlined that this step brings greater regulatory clarity to the circular economy framework in Europe.

The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA), in collaboration with the Tire Recycling Foundation, today announced the launch of a webinar series designed to accelerate the growth of scalable, profitable end-use markets for End-of-Life Tires (ELT). The series entitled “The Road to 100% Tire Circularity: ELTs Going Full Circle” will kick off in September and run through early 2026, covering three of the most promising ELT markets – tire-derived aggregate (TDA), molded and extruded products, and rubber-modified asphalt (RMA) – followed by a capstone session on grants and funding opportunities to support market growth.

Continental is prioritizing the use of renewable and recycled materials in its tire production. While the share of these materials averaged 26 percent in 2024, the tire manufacturer expects an increase of 2 to 3 percentage points by the end of this year. In just five years, by 2030, this figure is expected to rise to at least 40 percent. Among other materials, the focus is on rubber and resins from various more sustainable sources. Both materials are essential for the quality and performance characteristics of tires.

VTTI B.V., a global leader in energy infrastructure, has officially launched the market consultation for Tyre-Derived Oil (TDO) as part of the VTTI TyreLoop Antwerp project at its existing terminal VTTI Antwerp, Belgium. This initiative represents a significant step forward in VTTI’s strategy to address the global waste challenge and advance the energy transition.

Bolder Industries is presenting at the 2025 Global Polymer Summit, underlining its role in scaling sustainable raw materials. Since 2019, its Maryville, Missouri facility has supplied recycled solutions across more than 3,000 applications in tires, rubber, plastics, and coatings.