Tire Recycling Alternatives

The crumb rubber infill laid beneath artificial turf sports pitches — a granular material made mainly from shredded end-of-life car tires — could be phased out across the EU under a landmark restriction proposal from the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), reshaping one of the tire recycling industry’s established end-markets.

ECHA’s Committee for Socio-economic Analysis (SEAC) has adopted its opinion on the proposal, following an earlier opinion from the Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) in June 2020. Both committees concluded that an EU-wide restriction under the REACH chemicals legislation is the most appropriate way to address the release of billions of small plastic particles into the environment.

For tire recyclers, the stakes are concentrated in the granular infill market. The infill is produced mainly from shredded car tires, and ECHA identifies artificial turf as the single largest source of microplastic pollution, with releases of up to 16,000 tons a year. Among the options recommended to policymakers is a ban on placing the infill on the market after a six-year transition period.

Replacing the material will not be free. ECHA estimates the total cost of the restriction to European society at €10.8 to €19.1 billion over 20 years, depending on how the environmental risks of the granular infill are addressed — costs driven by reformulating mixtures, substituting alternative materials and enforcing the restriction.

The wider proposal targets intentionally added microplastics across cosmetics, cleaning and laundry products, fertilizers, plant-protection products and seed coatings, and ECHA says it would prevent 500,000 tons of microplastics from entering the environment over two decades.

Rather than shredding tires into a low-value infill that now faces a phase-out, the same end-of-life tires can be recovered through pyrolysis into higher-value commodities — recovered carbon black, pyrolysis oil and steel — that carry the material into the circular economy instead of the turf.

SEAC’s opinion will be published on ECHA’s website in early 2021, after which ECHA will send both committees’ opinions and its restriction proposal to the European Commission.

Learn More:

• Tire Pyrolysis
• Recovered Carbon Black
• Pyrolysis Oil
• Tire-Derived Marine Fuel
• Steel Recovery from Tires
• Feasibility Studies

Recover Value Beyond Turf Infill

ECHA’s six-year phase-out of crumb rubber infill — the shredded-tire material used under artificial turf — removes a low-value end-market just as the tire recycling industry looks for higher-margin recovery routes.

Klean Industries recovers end-of-life tires through pyrolysis into recovered carbon black, pyrolysis oil and steel — commodities that sell on their own merit instead of being ground into infill.

Why Choose Klean Industries’ Tire Pyrolysis?

✅ Pyrolysis plants that convert whole scrap tires into recovered carbon black, oil and steel.
✅ A higher-value alternative to shredding tires into turf infill.
✅ Feasibility studies that quantify costs, outputs and returns before you commit.
✅ Technology aligned with tightening EU microplastics and REACH restrictions.

Ready to turn your scrap tires into higher-value products?

Contact Klean Industries about tire pyrolysis » GO.