Tire Recycling Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

The Global Tire Recycling Market is projected to expand from USD 7.67 Billion in 2025 to USD 9.53 Billion by 2031, registering a CAGR of 3.69%. This sector encompasses the gathering, processing, and material reclamation of end-of-life tires (ELTs) to generate valuable outputs like rubber powder, steel, and tire-derived fuel. The industry's growth is largely bolstered by strict environmental rules enforcing landfill bans, alongside rising requirements for sustainable raw materials within the construction and automotive industries. Additionally, the global shift toward circular economy frameworks serves as a key catalyst, urging manufacturers to incorporate reclaimed rubber into new production lines to lessen dependence on fluctuating virgin resources, thereby ensuring steady market expansion beyond mere temporary adoption trends.

Despite this upward trajectory, the market encounters substantial obstacles related to the high operational costs and logistical intricacies of the reverse supply chain. Recovering dispersed waste tires often involves transportation costs that jeopardize the financial viability of recovery efforts, especially in areas with insufficient infrastructure. This difficulty is further intensified by the massive volume of material that necessitates processing. According to the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA), total tire shipments in the U.S. were anticipated to reach 338.9 million units in 2024, highlighting the enormous scale of feedstock that the recycling sector must efficiently manage to sustain market balance.

Market Drivers

Stringent environmental regulations and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) mandates are fundamentally transforming the market by mandating a structural transition from simple disposal to value-added resource recovery. Governments across the globe are instituting strict landfill bans and disposal fees, forcing manufacturers to accept physical and financial responsibility for their products after consumption. These regulatory pressures effectively stimulate the creation of strong collection networks and boost material utilization rates as companies aim for compliance. As noted by the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association in its October 2024 '2023 End-of-Life Tire Management Report', 79% of end-of-life tires were absorbed by end-use markets, illustrating how these policy structures are successfully channeling vast amounts of waste into productive uses.

Concurrently, progress in devulcanization and pyrolysis technologies is enhancing market potential by facilitating the creation of high-quality recovered carbon black and pyrolysis oil. Unlike conventional mechanical shredding, these advanced thermal methods permit the reintroduction of recycled materials directly into new tire production, effectively closing the loop within the automotive supply chain. Major industry leaders are reacting with substantial capital investments to expand these operations. For instance, Michelin announced in a February 2024 press release regarding its joint venture with Enviro that they finalized investment for a new recycling facility in Sweden capable of processing roughly 35,000 tons of used tires annually. Such technological capabilities are essential for managing the massive scale of global waste; according to Contec S.A., approximately one billion end-of-life tires are discarded annually worldwide in 2024, highlighting the critical need for advanced processing solutions.

Market Challenges

The logistical intricacies and elevated operational costs associated with the reverse supply chain constitute a significant hurdle to the growth of the Global Tire Recycling Market. In contrast to forward logistics, which utilize centralized manufacturing, collecting end-of-life tires requires retrieving scattered waste from thousands of different locations. This fragmentation undermines economies of scale, pushing transportation costs to levels that frequently surpass the resale value of the reclaimed material. As a result, high overhead expenses diminish profit margins, often rendering collection economically impractical in areas that lack dense infrastructure or proximity to processing centers.

This economic disparity directly limits the consistent flow of feedstock required for industrial-scale recycling activities. When transportation costs prevent efficient retrieval, immense volumes of potential raw materials remain unrecovered, stalling market throughput and generating environmental liabilities. The continuity of this inefficiency is reflected in recent industry inventory figures. According to the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA), roughly 48 million end-of-life tires remained in stockpiles throughout the United States in 2024. This accumulation underscores how logistical friction and prohibitive costs continue to hinder the complete integration of available waste into the recycling value chain.

Market Trends

The increasing utilization of rubber-modified asphalt (RMA) in road infrastructure is creating a vital, sustainable end-market for ground tire rubber, effectively expanding demand beyond standard tire-derived fuel. This shift is motivated by the infrastructure sector's requirement for high-performance materials that prolong pavement durability and lower maintenance needs, rather than being driven solely by waste diversion regulations. Transportation agencies at both state and federal levels are progressively validating RMA specifications, acknowledging its capacity to reduce road noise and withstand cracking under thermal stress. According to the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association's October 2024 '2023 End-of-Life Tire Management Report', the use of end-of-life tires in rubber-modified asphalt applications rose by 17% between 2021 and 2023, consuming a total of 165,000 tons of material.

At the same time, the integration of robotics and AI into scrap tire sorting is transforming processing capabilities by substituting hazardous manual separation with high-precision automated systems. These technologies employ sophisticated computer vision to recognize specific tire brands, types, and wear levels, ensuring that feedstock satisfies the strict purity standards necessary for chemical recycling methods like pyrolysis. This automation helps resolve the industry's labor shortages while greatly improving sorting accuracy and throughput for bulky waste streams. According to a February 2024 press release from ZenRobotics regarding its fourth-generation waste sorting technology launch, the updated Heavy Picker robot delivers an efficiency boost of 60% to 100% over earlier systems, enabling more rapid and precise separation of heavy materials such as tires.

Key Players Profiled in the Tire Recycling Market

• Re-Match A/S
• Continental AG
• Champlin Tire Recycling Inc.
• Wastefront AS
• Bridgestone Corporation
• Liberty Tire Recycling, LLC
• Genan Holding A/S
• Apollo Tyres Ltd.

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Tire Recycling Market has been segmented into the following categories:

Tire Recycling Market, by Process:

• Pyrolysis
• Shredding
• Refurbishing

Tire Recycling Market, by Product:

• Crumbed Rubber
• Tire Derived Fuel
• Refurbished Commercial Vehicle Tires
• Others

Tire Recycling Market, by Application:

• Manufacturing
• Construction
• Rubber Products
• Automotive
• Others

Tire Recycling Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Tire Recycling Market.

Available Customization

The analyst offers customization according to your specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

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