The rubber recycling and manufacturing marketplace is experiencing significant transformations, driven by both environmental concerns and technological advancements.
As John Sheerin, senior director end-of-life tire programs at USTMA, explained, in 2024 USTMA will begin preparation of their 2023 U.S. Scrap Tire Management Report, which will provide additional important insights and update the findings from the organization’s 2021 report.
Currently recycling tire rubber into ground rubber products has been a growing market. In USTMA’s latest Scrap Tire Management Report (2021) it was noted that the ground rubber market increased by 20 percent since 2019, making it the largest end-of-life tire market, consuming roughly 28 percent of all scrap tires in areas such as molded and extruded products (rubber mats and flooring as examples), rubber modified asphalt, rubber mulch and fine ground rubber (a material used in new tires, coating, and sealants).
“Also, tire derived fuel continues to be a consistent market – and as noted in our 2021 report, was the second largest market for end-of-life tires – while civil engineering applications have slowed a bit,” Sheerin said.
Collen Clark, founder of Schmidt & Clark LLP, said governments across the world are implementing stricter regulations regarding waste management and recycling. This is influencing the rubber industry to innovate and adapt in terms of recycling practices and the utilization of recycled materials.
“There’s also an increased focus on sustainability,” Clark said. “There’s a growing emphasis on sustainable practices within the rubber industry. Companies are increasingly adopting eco-friendly methods in rubber production and recycling, responding to both regulatory pressures and consumer demand for sustainable products.”
Of course, technological innovations in rubber recycling are taking the industry by storm as they’re employed to enhance the efficiency of rubber recycling. This includes improved methods for de-vulcanizing rubber, allowing it to be reused in new products with greater effectiveness.
“The machinery is improving and with automation tires can be recycled faster using less energy. The final products are also cleaner and safer than they were a decade ago,” said Michael Lobsinger, vice president at Eco-Flex. “It is difficult to determine the difference between our mats using recycled tires and mats that use virgin rubber. We are aware of a company that is working on using recycled tires to create rubber for manufacturing new tires. This technology is almost perfected and could change the industry whenever tires can be reused.”
There is also a series of diverse applications of recycled rubber, which means recycled rubber is finding its way into a wide array of products. Specifically, the rubber industry is increasingly adopting circular economy models, where waste materials are reused to create new products, reducing the reliance on virgin materials and minimizing environmental impact. “This includes use in automotive parts, construction materials, and even in creating new types of footwear and sports equipment. The versatility of recycled rubber is expanding its market presence,” Clark said.
Lobsinger said that tire recycling will become more important as vehicles are transitioned to electric, as internal combustion engine vehicles typically weigh more and use tires faster.
“Many countries such as Australia and parts of Europe are moving towards mandates that tires need to be recycled as opposed to landfilled or burned. So, the supply of tires is increasing,” Lobsinger said.
Eco-Flex’s newest product is a sound barrier wall made from recycled tires, which uses 92 percent less carbon than concrete sound barriers and have 25 percent more sound absorption. They are long lasting and have a stone-like façade.
“This could be an ideal solution for dealing with excess used tires and there are so many miles of sound barrier installed throughout the world every year,” Lobsinger said. “We also have products such as industrial walkways and access mats that can replace wood products, which are typically discarded after one or two uses. Our products last up to 20 years.”
Amy Brackin, senior vice president of sustainability at Liberty Tire, pointed out that the industry is getting tremendous pressure – from consumers, retailers, and manufacturers – to not only collect and manage tires but to also find the best and highest use for end-of-life tire material. That is both a challenge and a big opportunity.
“Liberty has actively embraced this effort and already made significant progress,” Brackin said. “Some of our successes are rubber mulch, molded products, rubberized asphalt, playground surfaces, sport area infill, crumb rubber applications, tire-derived aggregate, and tire-derived fuels. These have required significant capital investments and execution costs to make them happen.” But we know we can’t rest on our laurels. That’s why Liberty is constantly focused on innovating and committing capital towards new projects and growth.”
Market Expansion
The market for recycled rubber is expanding globally, with increasing demand in both developed and emerging economies. As Clark explained, this is being driven by the growing awareness of environmental issues and the cost-effectiveness of using recycled materials.
“These trends indicate a dynamic and evolving industry, where sustainability and innovation are key drivers,” Clark said.
Lobsinger noted that there is more competition within the rubber recycling industry as new players are entering the market. This can be good as they help educate the public on the benefits of the industry.
“The challenge is more competition drives the prices down and impacts the bottom line,” Lobsinger said. “One of the biggest challenges facing the rubber recycling industry is getting municipalities and large companies to understand the benefits and ESG metrics of using recycled tires. These stakeholders talk about the importance of being environmentally friendly, but are often reluctant to switch from wood or concrete products. Challenges relating to the cost of shipping, utilities and inflation in general, makes it more difficult to maintain the bottom line in this economy.”
Brackin said that recovered carbon black and the use of pyrolytic oil continues to hold a lot of promise and that market is a focus at Liberty. So are new opportunities in molding and the use of plastic and rubber combinations for a variety of applications.
“More important than any one product, however, is developing the right approach,” Brackin said. “As an industry, we have to avoid the innovators dilemma. We can’t become complacent about our current products, and we need to be asking ourselves everyday ‘how do we constantly improve?’”
At Liberty, the approach is twofold: the company pursues a diversified portfolio of outbound products, and we invest all our free capital into growth and innovation. They know the scale of the challenge continues to grow but so does the opportunity.
“Our job is to grow so we can handle the increased volume and innovate so we can move more tires towards their highest and best use,” Brackin said. “This allows retailers to meet the needs of their customers in moving tires to a fully sustainable solution.”
Liberty has set an ambitious goal of zero waste – by 2030. When all tires they collect will go to a beneficial use and no longer be landfilled.
“Sustainability requires commitment from all businesses in the supply chain. We need to not only achieve total recycling, we also need to innovate and move tires up the value chain at the same time. We also need to do it all while continuing to provide exceptional tire collection services – 24/7, rain or shine,” Brackin said. “That is a tall task. It’s going to take new partnerships, investments in emerging technologies, and aligning the public and private sectors. It also means that even as we are in the middle of this exciting time as an industry, we can’t forget about our exceptional employees. They are out in the field and in the factories every single day building a sustainable future. We can’t do it without them.”
Tire manufacturers Bridgestone and Michelin are working with stakeholders in the reclaimed Carbon Black (rCB) community to develop a proposed global standard to increase the utilization of recovered carbon black material in tires. According to Sheerin, Continental increased its use of ground tire rubber in its retread operations and Pirelli has been increasing its recycled and bio-based materials content of new tires.
“All USTMA member companies are focused on materials issues to improve the environmental performance of new tires,” Sheerin. “USTMA members share the goal of recycling 100 percent of scrap tires into sustainable and circular markets.”
USTMA sees end-of-life tire recycling as a key part of its role in supporting a sustainable circular economy and the organization has been steadfast in its efforts to promote market expansion.
“USTMA will continue its commitment to expand markets and help advance opportunities for scrap tire technologies through work with our value chain partners, federal and state policymakers, academia and NGOs,” Sheerin said.