The Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (REDISA) called out the country’s waste tyre recycling system a ‘ticking time bomb’. The country with an estimated population of about 62 million has more than 13 million registered vehicles including roughly eight million passenger cars and generates an estimated 200,000–250,000 tonnes of waste tyres from road vehicles alone each year.

This has created a major environmental and waste-management challenge alongside rising vehicle ownership.

Commenting on the issue, Executive Director of Operations at REDISA Stacey Jansen told Tyre Trends, “Waste tyre management in South Africa has, in effect, collapsed since the Waste Management Bureau under the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DDFE) took over in 2017. The effect is overfull depots posing significant fire risks including the dumping and burning of tyres illegally causing harmful chemicals to seep into groundwater and causing severe air pollution.”

“Economically, a huge opportunity is being missed, in that a structured management programme geared towards recycling can not only create jobs but also contribute to the circular economy as a whole. This was precisely what REDISA did between 2013 and 2017,” she added.

She also stated that internal research has shown that a functional waste plan for just 13 waste streams could raise South Africa’s GDP growth by 1.5 percentage points. For a country struggling with unemployment and stagnation, this is an avenue that must be pursued.

REDISA alleges serious governance failures within the DFFE and the Waste Management Bureau. The first problem is that no dependable data exists.

“We all know that there is a problem, but we don’t know the extent of it. The department’s figures and reports are filled with inconsistencies and errors and this impacts any effective decision-making on how to fix the issue of waste tyre management,” said Jansen.

Secondly, she argues that there does not seem to be a realisation that the government cannot handle waste tyre management on its own as it does not have the expertise, technology or experience.

Thirdly, more headline-grabbing issues such as conservation and climate, which are important, of course, receive a lot of attention. But ground-level interventions such as waste management, while not as media-friendly, offer real and relatively immediate ways to address environmental and economic problems, she stated.

THE BOMBARDING

The Biesiesvlei depot fire in 2023 caused extensive environmental damage. Alluding to the lessons learned from the incident, Jansen said, “This is a question perhaps best posed to the DFFE. Since that disaster, we have not seen a country-wide response that puts the safety of citizens and the environment first. If something isn’t done on a national scale, more depots will burn, releasing extremely toxic pollutants into the air.”

Moreover, the auctioning of nearly R100 million (USD 5–5.5 million) worth of unused pre-processing equipment has been called an ‘admission of failure’ by REDISA. Commenting on this, Jansen said, “We wish the government could tell us how they ended up idle. Either they bought the wrong equipment or they were unable to deploy it. The right decisions were clearly not made by the leadership in the department.”

Moreover, the exclusion of small businesses and micro-collectors from the current system has also impacted tyre collection, illegal dumping and rural employment.

According to Jansen, from 2013 to 2017, REDISA managed waste tyres in South Africa. In a short space of time, it built 22 tyre collection centres, employed more than 3 000 people and created 226 small waste enterprises.

This was all funded by a management fee levied on plan subscribers (producers and importers) as part of the approved Industry Waste Tyre Plan. In February 2017, following a legislative change, the state imposed an environmental levy, which replaced the fee REDISA was collecting. The levy is still being collected today, but the producers and the citizens are not seeing their money channelled into effective waste tyre management.

In fact, more than half of the money collected is going into the general tax fund. The result has been job losses, mostly in urban areas.

REDISA also claimed that the government underspent on tyre transport due to lack of storage space. Answering how does this contradiction affect the integrity of the waste tyre management system, she said, “The department admits this underspend and gives the reason in its latest annual report. They are silent on the consequences, but it can only lead to illegal dumping and burning of tyres. If you drive by almost any informal settlement or urban fringe in South Africa, you will see dumped tyres. And this could be transformed into an asset under the right system.”

CLEAR VIEW

During her interaction, Jansen encouraged citizens and journalists to visit waste tyre depots in their communities and see if they adhere to safety standards viz-a-viz 6-metre fire breaks between heaps, 8-metre gaps to buildings and fences, maximum heap size of 10 metre x 20 metre and more.

Collectors and transporters regularly complain to REDISA that the situation at the overfull depots and dumps have worsened so much since 2017 and that they are deeply concerned.

Questioning the sustainability of the current approach, Jansen said that generating nearly 70,000 waste tyres every day makes an over-reliance on storage depots deeply flawed. “This is not sustainable at all. The only outcome will be increased air pollution, contaminated groundwater and heightened fire risks. It is an attempt to apply a band-aid to the problem without addressing its root cause,” she said.

Jansen was equally critical of the DFFE’s decision to issue tenders for 32 new depots covering close to one million square metres. According to her, the move signals more than a stop-gap response. “I would describe it as an acknowledgement of defeat and clear evidence of an inability to effectively address tyre recycling in South Africa,” she added.

Reflecting on South Africa’s earlier leadership in circular tyre waste management, Jansen said restoring that position would not require sweeping policy or structural reforms. “The DFFE does not need new frameworks or radical changes. What is required is leadership that acknowledges the scale of the crisis and a willingness to return to a model that has already proven its worth, the internationally recognised REDISA model,” she said.

The warning signs are no longer theoretical. Idle equipment, expanding depots and rising illegal dumping point to a system drifting further from circularity. Without decisive leadership and a return to proven, accountable models, South Africa risks compounding environmental damage, economic loss and public health threats, allowing a ticking time bomb to keep counting down.

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ACE Laboratories, an independent ISO/IEC 17025-accredited polymer testing laboratory, has partnered with Abdallah Consulting, LLC, a prominent tyre pyrolysis advisory firm, to introduce VericarbSM. This independent certification programme verifies that materials marketed as recovered carbon black (rCB) meet established criteria for rCB.

Recovered carbon black, derived from end-of-life tyres via pyrolysis, serves as a sustainable substitute for virgin carbon black in rubber and polymer applications. However, the emerging market has lacked the standardisation and independent verification that established supply chains provide. VericarbSM addresses this gap through independent material characterisation and rubber performance data, offering stakeholders a consistent basis for evaluating rCB products.

For producers, certification accelerates market entry and improves buyer approval rates. Consumers gain more capable suppliers and reduced evaluation time, while investors benefit from clearer volume sizing and fewer costly test failures. The programme is jointly administered by both organisations.

Erick Sharp, CEO, ACE Laboratories, said, “The rCB market has enormous potential, but growth has been held back by uncertainty about material quality and consistency. VericarbSM gives producers a way to prove their product and gives buyers the independent data they need to say yes.”

Dave Abdallah, Founder, Abdallah Consulting, said, “One key reason for the delayed growth of recovered carbon black is lack of product performance information in the customer’s language. ASTM standards are critical; in fact, most testing done in the process follows ASTM methods. But customers relate to a product better when its performance is shown in applications relevant to them. VericarbSM solves the language issue by showing verified rCB in terms of rubber performance while simultaneously adding credibility via third-party analysis and reporting.”

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Zeon Corporation established Zeon Chemicals Kurashiki Co., Ltd. on 23 July 2026 to take over the acrylic rubber operations of fellow group firm Tohpe Corporation. The new entity, headquartered in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, is wholly owned by Zeon with paid-in capital of JPY 10 million and is led by representative Koji Minami.

On 21 August, Tohpe and the new subsidiary signed an absorption-type company split agreement, prompting Zeon to begin the procedures required under the Companies Act. Operations at the new company, focused on manufacturing and selling acrylic rubber and related activities, are scheduled to commence on 30 October 2026.

Acrylic rubber, known for its heat resistance, is used in automotive components including oil seals and hoses. The Zeon Group already maintains four production sites across Japan, United States and Thailand, forming a global supply network for the material.

The restructuring follows Zeon’s 11 May 2026 announcement that it would transfer Tohpe shares to NATOCO Co., Ltd. of Miyoshi City, Aichi Prefecture, as part of Tohpe’s paints business divestiture. Tohpe’s acrylic rubber operations, which complement Zeon’s Elastomers Business, will now be positioned as a key specialty rubber manufacturing site, with closer operational coordination intended to strengthen Group competitiveness and corporate value.

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The company is betting that a polymer manufactured from end-of-life truck tyres can disrupt the market for petroleum-based styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS), a widely used road-binding additive whose pricing and availability are tied to global oil markets. After completing a live road trial with Road Science and Auckland Transport in New Zealand, the company is preparing to use the results as a springboard for expansion into Australia and Sub-Saharan Africa, positioning the recycled material as a lower-cost, lower-carbon alternative to virgin polymers.

New Zealand-based Revyre Global Limited is positioning a polymer manufactured from end-of-life truck tyres as a lower-cost alternative to petroleum-based styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) after completing a live road trial with Road Science and Auckland Transport in New Zealand.

The company has spent several years developing the product as a direct replacement for SBS. Unlike conventional tyre-derived asphalt, which relies on crumb rubber, the company’s Chief Executive Officer Shaun Zukor told Tyre Trends that its proprietary thermomechanical process produces a remanufactured polymer with blending characteristics similar to SBS, allowing it to be used in existing asphalt infrastructure.

“Our primary objective was to develop a drop-in replacement for SBS, which is a petroleum-derived synthetic polymer,” Zukor said. “SBS is expensive, made from virgin materials and is widely used to improve road durability, fatigue resistance and overall pavement performance.”

The company began engaging Road Science, a division of Downer, and Auckland Transport after completing laboratory validation with engineering consultancy WSP in New Zealand.

Before approaching customers, it invested around 18 months in laboratory testing to validate the material’s performance.

Following successful laboratory trials, Road Science carried out its own evaluations before, together with Auckland Transport, deciding to trial the material on Blockhouse Bay Road, one of Auckland’s busiest roads.

The project then underwent another lengthy approval process involving Auckland Council and scientific advisers.

“It took another year to a year and a half to obtain all the necessary approvals from the council and its scientific advisors,” Zukor said. “They wanted to verify that all the claims in our technical literature were accurate.”

Construction of the trial road took place over three days in March and the company expects to receive the first performance data around September. Those results are expected to support commercialisation in overseas markets.

“Our business is focused only on New Zealand at the moment because we’re using it as a proof of concept,” Zukor said. “Once those results are available, we’ll publish them. That will place us in a much stronger position to take the product into Australia and Sub-Saharan Africa.”

The company estimates that entering Australia would take another 12 to 18 months after trial results are available and a planned New Zealand manufacturing facility becomes operational.

Although the current road project used only a small quantity of material because it is a demonstration, Zukor said the commercial opportunity could expand significantly.

“We used a relatively small amount of material for this particular project, but if the opportunity grows as expected, supplying the Auckland Transport network alone could eventually consume between 40–50 percent of our production capacity,” he noted.

MATERIAL ECONOMICS

The company currently manufactures the material primarily from truck and bus radial (TBR) tyres and earthmover tyres because of the higher natural rubber content.

While the SBS substitute represents the company’s immediate focus, it has divided its broader product portfolio into three categories. Revpol A, manufactured mainly from passenger and light truck tyres is intended for lower-performance rubber products such as rubber tiles, shoe soles and conveyor belts.

Revpol B targets asphalt applications and new tyre manufacturing, while Revpol C, produced largely from earthmover tyres, is designed for higher-performance applications.

The company is not currently manufacturing at its own facility but plans a new production unit in New Zealand. Until that facility is operational, product for trials is being supplied by its Canadian partner.

The technology relies primarily on a thermomechanical recycling process rather than chemical recycling. Whole tyres are broken down with steel separated from the rubber before the rubber is processed to a 30-mesh particle size and passed through Revyre’s proprietary thermomechanical process.

Zukor said only a very small amount of non-toxic, FDA-approved chemicals are used and that the process is driven primarily by operating parameters rather than chemical reactions.

He added that one of the key advantages of the technology is that it can be incorporated into existing SBS blending infrastructure with minimal changes as most development work focused on determining the optimum blending ratio rather than overcoming technical limitations.

“The primary technical challenges relate to the blending ratio,” he said, adding, “The higher the percentage of Revpol you add, the higher the temperatures and shear forces required in the bitumen blending terminals.”

Although the company has successfully blended as much as 20 percent Revpol into bitumen during development, Zukor said performance gains diminish beyond a certain point.

It has identified an optimum blend of between 5 percent and 10 percent depending on the application, ranging from conventional roads to heavy-duty pavements and airport runways.

“Any facility that currently blends SBS using its existing infrastructure can also blend our product using that same infrastructure,” he said.

CATALYST FOR SAVINGS

Zukor believes the material can reduce both costs and environmental impacts while improving pavement performance.

“We want to create a product that is environmentally sustainable, has an abundant raw material supply and is 20–40 percent cheaper than virgin materials while also having a significantly lower carbon footprint,” he stated.

Laboratory testing has produced encouraging results. According to Zukor, New Zealand’s wheel-tracking standard requires materials to withstand 800,000 load cycles, while Revyre’s product continued to perform until testing was halted at two million cycles.

“Our product achieved nearly two to three times the required wheel-tracking performance compared with standard bitumen,” he noted.

He also added that the objective is to produce road surfaces that are less expensive, more durable and environmentally sustainable while simultaneously addressing the challenge of managing end-of-life tyres.

“We believe this product ticks all of those boxes and have obtained a patent for it,” he said.

MANUFACTURING SCALABILITY

Although the company is currently relying on manufacturing capacity in Canada, Zukor said its modular production model could support significant expansion once commercial demand develops.

“We can currently produce up to 10,000 tonnes of this product, but because our production facilities are modular, capacity can easily be scaled anywhere from 1,000 tonnes to 50,000 tonnes, depending on market demand and the requirements of a particular region,” said Zukor.

Once the planned New Zealand facility becomes operational, Zukor expects its tyre feedstock to be supplied through Tirewise, the country’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme for end-of-life tyres.

Under the programme, every imported tyre attracts a levy that funds incentives for registered collectors, processors and end users to move tyres through the approved recycling chain. Zukor said Revyre intends to register again as a processor after commissioning its new plant.

GOING PAST HURDLES

Zukor acknowledged that customer adoption remains the biggest hurdle. Road contractors also need to validate new formulations through laboratory testing before incorporating them into their pavement designs. Hence, Revyre is focusing on multinational contractors already operating in New Zealand to accelerate adoption, believing successful validation locally could support deployment elsewhere within those organisations.

He also believes global dependence on petroleum-derived SBS strengthens the case for tyre-derived alternatives.

“If you look at SBS, it’s already a product that’s in very high demand globally. Because it’s petroleum-based, its availability and pricing are heavily influenced by global macro-economic and geopolitical events,” Zukor said.

He said the company’s commercial proposition rests on three principles viz-a-viz consistent quality, supply and pricing.

According to Zukor, replacing virgin SBS with tyre-derived polymers could help localise supply chains, reduce exposure to petroleum price volatility and improve environmental outcomes while lowering costs for road owners.

Beyond New Zealand, Revyre is also evaluating opportunities in North America through its Canadian partner and is exploring future markets for tyre-derived materials.

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Europe’s tyre industry stands at a crossroads as mounting regulatory pressure, resource constraints and circular economy targets reshape the end-of-life tyre landscape. Despite Germany achieving one of the world’s highest recycling rates, an estimated 100,000 tonnes of used tyres continue to leave the country annually, undermining domestic recovery efforts. In conversation with Tyre Trends, AZuR Network Coordinator Anna-Maria Guth outlines the policy reforms, recycling technologies, retreading opportunities and cross-border collaboration needed to keep valuable raw materials in circulation and build a fully circular European tyre ecosystem.

What gaps in the traditional tyre value chain led to the establishment of the AZuR network?

In Germany, we have a very high recycling rate for end-of-life tyres. However, following a merger of certified tyre disposal companies that collect and sort tyres, it became clear that we needed to bring all stakeholders together to really make progress. The excellent response to the AZuR network shows that this is the right approach.

The European tyre industry is under increasing pressure regarding emissions, waste management and the circular economy. What policy measures are still needed to accelerate the widespread adoption of tyre recycling?

Couple of policy implementations must be achieved in order to reach this goal. The first is a strict ban on the export of ELTs and rigorous enforcement of this regulation. Secondly, clear, predictable and statutory regulations regarding the use of ELT granulate. Lastly, consistent implementation of circular economy strategies.

What role can recovered carbon black (rCB) play in reducing Europe’s dependence on primary fossil raw materials?

The pyrolysis companies in the AZuR network are making great strides in improving the quality of rCB. We are optimistic that in the foreseeable future, we will be able to produce a grade that allows the material to be incorporated into new tyres in larger quantities. That would be a major breakthrough and would create real added value as it would keep the raw materials within the circular economy.

How does AZuR distinguish between mechanical recycling, devulcanisation and pyrolysis in terms of sustainability and scalability?

Within the network, we adhere to the European waste hierarchy viz-a-viz prevention, reuse, recycle including mechanical and chemical and, finally, thermal recycling.

We are open to all technologies when it comes to processes. However, it is clear that in the interests of the circular economy, we want to minimise thermal recovery. And this also applies to pyrolysis oil provided it is not used for the production of new products but as a secondary fuel.

How close is the tyre industry to establishing tyres made with recycled materials without compromising on performance?

Some manufacturers are already field-testing tyres containing over 70 percent recycled and bio-based raw materials. The industry is very active in this area. However, we would like to see a more nuanced approach to recycled materials and bio-based materials.

Bio-based materials cannot be the solution in the medium term and the EUDR is already restricting the use of bio-based materials in Europe. Our focus must be more on recycled materials and their qualities so that raw materials can be kept in the cycle.

More than 500,000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres are generated in Germany every year. What are currently the biggest bottlenecks in the infrastructure for collection, sorting and processing?

At present, the SME sector in Germany is structured in such a way that all tyres generated can be collected, sorted and processed. Our biggest challenge is that the material is currently being exported rather than ending up with responsible companies in the circular economy. We estimate that around 100,000 tonnes are exported annually without proper regulation.

How will the network influence future EU regulations on the circular economy?

We are delighted to be engaging in growing dialogue with EU bodies, which enables us to raise the profile of the circular economy, which is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises. Our aim is to set the right course at European level as quickly as possible so that companies can work successfully with the materials and keep as many raw materials as possible in the cycle.

Which groundbreaking technologies or business models are currently attracting the most attention?

There are quite a few, and to name just a few, we have companies in the network working on AI-driven solutions for tyre sorting as well as start-ups producing devulcanised materials for the new tyre industry or AI-assisted machines for the professional regrooving of truck tyres.

How important is cross-border cooperation in establishing a sustainable circular economy for tyres across Europe, rather than in isolated national markets?

AZuR started as a German network, but we can now safely say that we have become a European network. We have partners from Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Ukraine, Estonia and Poland. All these countries face similar challenges as the relevant legislation is often decided at European level and we can achieve very little at national level. We can only take the big steps together in Europe.

How difficult is it to reconcile economic interests within such a diverse ecosystem?

All AZuR partners are united by a shared vision of 100 percent recycling of end-of-life tyres generated in Europe. We know that this is economically viable. However, we also know that we can only tackle the hurdles that are currently preventing us from reaching our goal by working together.

Our target of 100 percent recycling of end-of-life tyres is very realistic and, in our view, can be achieved in the short term with the right measures.

How do you respond to the market’s ongoing concerns regarding the safety, quality and performance of retreaded tyres?

The retreaders currently operating in Germany are industrial retreaders whose quality standards are in no way inferior to those of new tyre manufacturers. Real-world use shows that there are no quality limitations with retreaded tyres. When retreaded, the casings from premium manufacturers offer a quality comparable to that of the original new tyre.

Incidentally, the safety of the technology is demonstrated by retreaders of aircraft tyres as such tyres are retreaded 12 to 14 times and are highly relevant to safety. And retreading is the ideal solution for recycling as it allows the tyre to be used a second and third time as a tyre.

Why has retreading uptake in the passenger car sector remained relatively limited compared to that in the commercial vehicle sector?

One of the major challenges facing retreading in the passenger car sector is the vast variety of sizes, which makes retreading economically unviable. We are constantly seeking dialogue with vehicle manufacturers on this issue.

Furthermore, passenger car tyres are often in use for longer because they are driven less frequently, meaning fewer casings are available for retreading. However, we believe in passenger car tyre retreading, particularly given the growing share of electric vehicles, and are delighted that a retreader in Germany will be relaunching operations in this segment this year.

How important will AI, predictive analytics and sensor-based tyre management become over the next decade?

Smart tyre management is both an economic factor for haulage companies and an environmental one. We know that how a tyre is used has a significant impact on its service life. And at the top of the waste hierarchy is waste prevention. Here, both the new tyre industry and users are called upon to make optimal use of tyres so that they can remain in service for as long as possible.

What would success look like for AZuR in the next five years?

We would have reason to celebrate if we were to achieve the following key objectives in the coming years. The objectives include 40 percent market share for retreaded lorry tyres in Europe, 10 percent market share for retreaded passenger car tyres in Europe, 100 percent recycling of end-of-life tyres in Europe and clear legal regulations governing the use of recycled ELTs.   

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