Scrap Tire Recycling

A U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association report reveals that almost 76 percent of scrap tires were recycled in products such as rubber-modified asphalt, automotive products, mulch for landscaping, and tire-derived fuel in 2019. This is down from 96 percent in 2013 when scrap tire recycling peaked. The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) released its 2019 Scrap Tire Management Report on Oct.

14. According to the report, while tires remain one of the most recycled products in the U.S., end-of-life markets are not keeping pace with the annual generation of scrap tires. The report reveals that almost 76 percent of scrap tires were recycled in products such as rubber-modified asphalt, automotive products, mulch for landscaping, and tire-derived fuel in 2019.

This is down from 96 percent in 2013 when scrap tire recycling peaked. “Three decades after we successfully eliminated 94 percent of the over 1 billion scrap tires stockpiled around the country, this report reveals that efforts to find and develop new uses for scrap tires have stalled,” Anne Forristall Luke, president and CEO of USTMA, says. “We must take immediate steps to grow new and existing markets to recycle 100 percent of scrap tires.

This not only protects our health and the environment—it drives innovation and jobs.” While the number of scrap tires generated each year grew by almost 7 percent, the total number of scrap tires recycled or reclaimed has not significantly changed since 2017. The report found that 56 million scrap tires remain in stockpiles, mostly in Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. According to the association, half of which–New Jersey, New Mexico, Texas, and Virginia—do not have active stockpile cleanup programs.

USTMA and its members work with state regulators, recyclers, and other stakeholders to manage scrap tires and develop recycling and reuse markets. According to the association, companies like France-based Michelin, Japan-based Bridgestone, and Germany-based Continental use recycled carbon black (rCB) to produce new tires. Michelin has also partnered with Sweden-based Scandinavian Enviro Systems to increase end-of-life tire recycling using a pyrolysis process that converts scrap tires to new raw materials.

Bridgestone has joined with Delta-Energy Group, Natchez, Mississippi, to bring at-scale use of rCB to the tire market, and Continental works with Pyrolyx, Munich, to help tire manufacturers scale up the production of rCB from scrap tires for use in products ranging from mobile phones to ink pens. As part of its report, USTMA urged state regulators and federal lawmakers as well as recyclers, industry and environmental groups, and academic partners to do more to advance a circular economy. Specifically, USTMA listed the following criteria for advancing a circular economy: States must resist the urge to shift scrap tire funds away from their intended purpose: to grow scrap tire reuse and recycle markets, clean up piles, and enforce state laws.

USTMA supports reasonable fees on the sale of new tires to manage state programs, like those collected in 35 states. New public and private sector investments are needed to meet innovation challenges, research the lifecycle impacts of scrap tires in different end-use markets, and create a national portal for states to share data. State and federal policies should encourage the growth of reuse and recycle markets including investments in sustainable infrastructure like rubber-modified asphalt and stormwater infiltration galleries, changes in state transportation specifications to allow the use of rubber-modified asphalt, and consideration of scrap tires in climate policies.

Learn More:

• Tire Pyrolysis
• Recovered Carbon Black
• Pyrolysis Oil
• Retreading & Circular Tyre Manufacturing
• Reoil Poland Case Study
• PHS Greece Case Study
• Kumho Petrochemical Korea
• Feasibility Studies

Close The Scrap Tire Recycling Gap

With scrap tire recycling slipping from 96 percent in 2013 to 76 percent in 2019, end-of-life markets are failing to keep pace with generation.

Klean Industries turns scrap tires into recovered carbon black, steel, and pyrolysis oil, reopening the markets that recycling alone cannot reach.

Why Choose Klean Industries’ Tire Pyrolysis?

✅ Proven commercial tire pyrolysis that turns end-of-life tires into recovered carbon black, steel, and oil.
✅ Recovered carbon black that drops straight back into new-tire and rubber manufacturing.
✅ Emissions-compliant, self-sustaining plants that outmatch backyard pyrolysis on safety and yield.
✅ Turn-key EPC delivery with feasibility studies to de-risk every project.

Ready to recycle 100 percent of scrap tires?

Contact Klean Industries about Scrap Tire Recycling » GO.