News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

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.

In Episode 77 of The Tyre Recycling Podcast, Lina Goodman, CEO of Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA), shares her perspective on the upcoming Round Trip 2025 Tyre and Conveyor Belt Recycling Summit. She highlights the importance of collaboration with New Zealand’s mandatory Tyrewise scheme, describing the event as a platform for knowledge sharing. Goodman also points to the inclusion of conveyor belts in the summit’s agenda, the focus on developing markets for tyre-derived materials, and the urgent need for a mandatory stewardship scheme in Australia to address free-riders and illegal dumping.

The European Union has made the transition to more sustainable mobility, one of its top priorities. Adopted in April 2024, the Euro 7 regulation represents a major step forward, by introducing, for the first time, particle emission thresholds for tire wear — a measure Michelin fully supports.

According to Tyrewise, Aotearoa New Zealand’s first regulated product stewardship scheme for tyres has marked its first year of operation with nearly 4 million end-of-life tyres collected for recycling or repurposing, and more than 5,000 registered partners nationwide.

With the acquisition of an exclusive patent family and the commissioning of a newly developed pilot facility for the production of purified pyrolysis oil, Continental is harnessing the industrial potential of pyrolysis technology for the first time and laying the foundation for recycling complex rubber compounds on an industrial scale. The technological solution employed by the group sector ContiTech is designed to recover high-quality raw materials from waste rubber and systematically replace fossil resources.

Mexico City has launched the Ciudad Circular: Basura Cero (Circular City: Zero Trash) strategy, an ambitious plan to transform waste management and expand reuse practices across the capital. The initiative includes measures such as modernizing the Bordo Poniente composting plant, expanding infrastructure for organic waste treatment, and building a dedicated facility for tire recycling.