USTMA report urges increased tire-recycling efforts

WASHINGTON — More investment in industries that use recycled tires is necessary to keep up with an increasing amount of scrap tires generated, according to a new report by the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA).

The "2021 Scrap Tire Management Report" found that markets consumed 71 percent of annually generated scrap tires in 2021, down from about 76 percent reported in 2019. This decrease is due primarily to a nearly 13-percent increase in scrap tire generation, while markets that consume them increased by 6 percent, the report said.

The report noted that scrap-tire recycling outperforms metal, glass, aluminum, plastic and paper recycling rates. Only automotive batteries and corrugated cardboard have higher recycling rates.

"We see scrap-tire recycling as a key part of our role in supporting a sustainable circular economy and we have been steadfast in our efforts to promote market expansion," USTMA President and CEO Anne Forristall Luke said.

"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."

The report found that the the market for ground rubber increased by 29 percent since 2019, making it the largest scrap tire market, consuming roughly 28 percent of all scrap tires in the following areas:

• Molded and extruded products, such as rubber mats and flooring, increased by 25 percent and consumed 485,000 tons.
• Rubber mulch increased by 54 percent and consumed 391,000 tons. Home and facility improvement activities during COVID-19 shutdowns are credited in part for this.
• Rubber-modified asphalt consumed 141,000 tons, down slightly from 2019. COVID-19 interruptions to construction funding and market development impeded the growth, the report said.
• Fine ground rubber, a material used in new tires, coating, sealants and exports, consumed another 79,000 tons of scrap tires.

Tire-derived fuel is now the second largest market for scrap tires, decreasing 15 percent since 2019, the report said, consuming about 28 percent of scrap tires in the following areas:

• Cement kilns—682,000 tons, a reduction of over 16 percent since 2019. Covid disruptions to construction and the demand for cement account for this.
• Pulp and paper mills—524,000 tons, an increase of 8.8 percent since 2019. Strengthening demand for TDF is attributed to increased energy prices.
• Electric and industrial utility boilers consumed 187,000 tons since 2019 and has decreased nearly 50 percent as coal-fired plants shut down and emission limits tighten.
• Exports accounted for 1.7 percent of generation, decreasing by over a third.
• Electric arc furnace consumption remained flat in the 2021 report at 1 percent.

Markets that showed additional increases in the 2021 report include civil- engineering applications, which consumed about 6 percent of scrap tires; a large variety of smaller markets that were combined for this report consumed 6 percent of scrap tires and include agricultural, baled with markets, punched and stamped products, pyrolysis and others; and land reclamation, which consumed about 1 percent of scrap tires.

States continued to reduce illegal or abandoned stockpiled tires from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to less than 50 million nationwide in 2021 from an estimated 1 billion-plus in 1990, the report said.

The 95-percent reduction is the result of decades of progress developing the scrap tire recycling industry and remediating stockpile sites, according to the report.

Texas stockpiles, which account for almost 24 percent of the total stockpile inventory, continue to reduce inventory, the report said.

Approximately 11.5 million scrap tires in stockpiles are spread across the country with four states—New Jersey, New Mexico, Virginia and Washington—exceeding 1 million, and with 44 states under 1 million.

The USTMA has identified three areas of focus required to grow end-use markets:

• Seize historic infrastructure opportunities

With the recent passing of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the USTMA said it is focused on expanding opportunities to grow scrap tire markets that offer sustainable infrastructure solutions. This year, the USTMA worked with congressional leaders to identify provisions in the BIL that support scrap-tire recycling and the use of scrap tires in rubber-modified asphalt (RMA) and tire-derived aggregate in civil-engineering projects.

The USTMA also identified six policy proposals—ranging from tax incentives to additional research dollars and procurement commitments—that support the implementation of scrap tire infrastructure technologies.

• Ensure robust state scrap tire management programs

Scrap tire management is primarily the responsibility of state governments. It is important for states to have robust scrap tire management programs that generate revenue streams to fund research that develops and assesses existing and emerging markets and addresses scrap tire abatement, the USTMA said.

• Improve collaboration and increase partnerships

The USTMA said it works with numerous stakeholders to encourage the growth of circular, sustainable scrap tire markets. In 2021, the trade group collaborated with The Ray—a philanthropic organization dedicated to the discovery and implementation of sustainable transportation technologies—and researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia to produce a State of Knowledge report on RMA.

The USTMA expects to release similar research about tire-derived aggregate in partnership with the Tire and Rubber Association of Canada, Liberty Tire Recycling, First State Tire Recycling and the University of Wisconsin. These studies summarize existing literature to understand what is known about performance, economic and environmental benefits, identify knowledge gaps and offer recommendations for future research and investment.

The USTMA said it is planning its ninth scrap tire conference in 2024 to expand collaborative networks and partnerships further. .