USTMA Tire Recycling Conference puts emphasis on partnerships, innovation

ATLANTA—Scrap tires in North America have decades of innovation behind their secondary uses, though work remains in finding a new life for a greater percentage of them.

Ironically, the onset of electric vehicles is creating new challenges for the tire recycling space, including the generation of more scrap tires.

Still, scrap tires have a relatively high rate of recyclability, with only batteries and cardboard finding circularity at a higher rate, according to John Sheerin, director of end-of-life tire (ELT) programs for the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association.

The USTMA's annual Tire Recycling Conference, conducted in Atlanta from May 15-17, was a tour through all facets of the scrap tire and recycling industry, from collaboration to innovative ELT avenues.

"Let's stop talking about tire piles, tire collection and the 'tire problem,' " said Lavon Detweiler of Entech Inc., a Middlebury, Ind.-based firm that produces crumb and micronized rubber from ELTs. "Let's talk instead about innovative, high-value end uses."

Rubber-modified asphalt has become the No. 1 end-use for scrap tires (tire-derived fuel remains a fading second), though tire pyrolysis is gaining momentum.

Outside of RMA, recycled rubber finds its way into rubber sheet for flooring applications, compression molding with urethane or sulfur-based binding systems, and rubber-modified coatings.

On day one of the conference, May 16, industry experts discussed promising uses for scrap tires as well as collaborative initiatives aimed at expanding market opportunities.

According to Detweiler, any viable tire recycling company—along any point in the supply chain—that is not spending on product research and development "is not helping to secure the future of our industry."

Detweiler's company, Entech, has chosen to spend its money on RMA and asphalt mixes for paving and patching.

"Using recycled rubber to modify asphalt binders and hot mixes is one of the most innovative high-volume, high-value uses ever developed," Detweiler said. "Promoting the widespread use of proven rubberized chip seal technology will save tax dollars ... and we can work together on this."

Entech operates a trucking company (Paxco Inc.), a machining and fabrication plant and a processing facility, making the firm nearly completely vertically oriented for breaking down scrap tires and producing crumb rubber.

Accepted tires include passenger car and semi-radial tires. Unacceptable tires include foam-filled tires; tires with rims; OTR tires; and dirty tires.

Truck tires and passenger car tires are separated upon entry into the processing facility and sent down two completely different processing lines, Detweiler said.

Rubberized chip sealing, or RCS, is a non-proprietary process that sees a fine layer of small stones and asphalt applied to a road surface, typically less than a half-inch thick.

"By sealing cracks, the road can continue to function for many years," Detweiler said. "It gives decades of additional life to a road."

Rarely is there enough money for communities to repair low-volume roads, which is where RCS shines.

"It is a particularly good choice for more rural, low-traffic roads," he told the audience at the Marriott Renaissance in Atlanta. "And traffic can be back on the road almost immediately."

Detweiler said he is more optimistic today than "at any time in the last 30 years" for tire recycling, as the infrastructure is in place throughout the ELT supply chain.

"It's easy to be discouraged over the lack of progress in the last 40 years," he said. "Now, there is a reliable structure of collection and processing.

"But please, please ... for the sake of our industry, spend some money on research and development. We need to innovate around the products themselves. As much progress as we have made, we have a long, long way to go if we are to create a sustainable industry that future generations can appreciate."

According to the USTMA's Sheerin, the organization that counts the world's top tire makers as members, is again in the process of assembling the biennial Scrap Tire Management Report, a comprehensive look at end-uses and scrap tire generation in the U.S., by state and by tire type, in 2023.

The amount of scrap tires generated in 2021, the last complete report for the tire recycling industry, topped more than 5 million tons for the first time ever, according to the 2021 USTMA Scrap Tire Management Report, released late in 2022.

About 71 percent, or 195 million of the 274 million scrap tires generated, ultimately became ground rubber, tire-derived fuel or raw material for civil engineering projects (among numerous other end markets) in 2021.

This is down from 76 percent in 2019, and a high point of 96 percent in 2013.

Sheerin predicts the percentage to be slightly higher in 2023, though the conversion rate is trending the wrong way from 2013's high mark. Essentially, the gap between the amount of scrap tires generated and the tonnage converted for a second life is widening.

For the second time since the USTMA Scrap Tire Management Report was issued in 2013, ground rubber is expected to lead the disposition for scrap tires at about 28 percent in 2023, with slightly more volume than the amount of tires that went toward tire-derived fuel.

"Let's embark on a journey of innovation in our industry in an era when sustainability and environmental consciousness are paramount," said Charlie Astafan, general manager of CM Shredders, who moderated the May 16 panel. "We need innovations to face the challenges we face. Let's harness the power of research and development and push the boundaries of what is possible."

Astafan, whose company makes tire shredding machinery, added that collaboration "is key on this journey."

"That goes for technology and academic experts to exchange ideas," he said. "By fostering a culture of innovation we can drive positive change in our industry.

"This is not just a choice, but a necessity. Let's seize this time to create a brighter future for generations to come."

Andrew Meurer, chief commercial officer and president of Liberty Tire Recycling, built on several themes that were raised at the USTMA's Tire Recycling Conference, including the need for consolidation, partnerships and investment.

Meurer spent a decade at Michelin as director of marketing and sales in N.A. for the passenger and light truck division.

He became president of Liberty in January.

"We are at a tipping point in this industry right now," he said May 16. "Consolidation is happening and it is a positive thing. We have gotten so much better at collection, equipment and processing. Our knowledge has gotten more sophisticated over time."

But herein lies the rub: the chemistry and engineering of tire making has become equally sophisticated.

"Tire manufacturers have actually made our job harder," Meurer said. "As they innovate to make tires safer and more sustainable, they become increasingly difficult to deconstruct and recycle."

With more than 200 material streams that can come from ELTS, partnerships—or at least conversations—between recyclers and tire manufacturers are critical.

"We need to get with tire manufacturers to figure that stuff out ahead of time. These material streams affect the outbound products. And the problem is only getting worse for us right now," Meurer said.

Meurer noted that the car parc has "dramatically changed" over the last decade alone, with a major shift toward larger rim sizes.

Whereas 15-inch to 17-inch rim sizes comprised most of the market 10 years ago, the market today is increasingly full of 18-inch to 22-inch rim sizes.

"This kind of size means 30 percent more weight," Meurer said. "And not only is weight going up with EVs, these tires wear up to 25 percent faster due to torque."

Partnerships like those that exist within the newly founded Tire Recycling Foundation, unveiled at this year's conference, give him hope.

"As does the retail landscape," he said. "What consumers care about has shifted. They are clearly voting for the brands that support sustainability. And tire retailers are shifting their platforms so that they can say they are circular and sustainable."