The Tire Recycling Foundation has opened nominations for its first Circle of Change Awards, aimed at recognising organisations, teams and individuals advancing innovation and sustainability across the tyre recycling sector.

Nominations opened on 15 December and will be accepted until 8 February  2026. The awards will honour contributions spanning tyre recycling technologies, end-use market development and leadership in circular economy practices.

“The Circle of Change Awards will serve as a powerful way to recognise national visionaries and changemakers who have shaped the trajectory of the full tyre recycling value chain over the past two decades,” said Anne Forristall Luke, president of the Tire Recycling Foundation board. “We are thrilled to recognise trailblazers making a lasting impact on end-of-life tyre (ELT) recycling and the circular economy.”

Four award categories will be presented at the 10th Tire Recycling Conference, scheduled to take place in Denver, Colorado.

“By spotlighting the collective progress being made in tyre recycling, the Foundation hopes these inaugural awards will inspire and fuel accelerating momentum in exciting new markets for recycled tyres,” said Stephanie Mull, executive director of the Tire Recycling Foundation.

The Innovation in End-Use Technology Award will recognise technologies, products or processes that use recycled tyre rubber in new ways, with a focus on technological advancement, commercialisation and sustainability impact.

The Circular Economy Trailblazer Recognition, State Leadership in Tire Market Innovation category will honour state agencies or statewide programmes that demonstrate leadership and measurable impact in advancing tyre recycling within a circular economy framework.

The Market Development Excellence Award will recognise efforts to expand end-use markets for tyre-derived materials through education, policy, marketing or advocacy, with an emphasis on measurable market growth and long-term strategy.

The Value Chain Collaboration Award will acknowledge partnerships across the tyre recycling value chain that deliver measurable improvements in efficiency, economics or environmental performance.

The foundation said organisations and individuals that have made significant contributions to tyre recycling or developed innovative solutions for tyre-derived materials are encouraged to apply. Award recipients will be allowed to showcase their achievements and inspire further progress across the sector.

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The Government of Kerala has approved the twelfth phase of the Rubber Production Incentive Scheme, extending support to natural rubber growers through a guaranteed price mechanism.

The scheme is designed to ensure a price of INR 250 per kilogram for RSS 4 grade sheet rubber. Growers who are not yet enrolled may register for the programme until 23 October 2026, according to an official statement issued on 6 August in Kottayam.

Applicants seeking new registration must submit an Aadhaar card, bank passbook copy, current year land tax receipt and a photograph to their respective Rubber Producers’ Societies. Existing participants are required to renew their registration by providing land tax receipts for the 2026–27 period.

The release added that sale invoices or purchase bills submitted under the scheme must originate from licensed dealers who comply with statutory return requirements. Further details are available through the nearest Rubber Board office.

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The Rubber Board of India has launched a series of educational videos as part of the iSPEED (INROAD Skilling and Production Efficiency Enhancement Drive) programme, an INR 1.50-billion initiative aimed at enhancing skill development, quality improvement and infrastructure building within the natural rubber sector. This launch comes as the plantation activities under the larger Project INROAD (Indian Natural Rubber Operations for Assisted Development) in Northeast India approach completion, shifting focus towards productivity and quality enhancement through modern training and facilities.

The newly released video series targets nearly 300,000 rubber growers in the region, covering five essential processing areas: Rubber Tapping, Rain Guarding, Grading, Rubber Sheet Making and Scientific Smokehouses. To ensure broad accessibility, the modules have been produced in Assamese, Bengali, Hindi and Malayalam, enabling effective communication with diverse stakeholders across the natural rubber ecosystem.

The official release of the videos was conducted by Executive Director M Vasanthagesan, alongside Rubber Production Commissioner Dr Siju T Nair, other senior Board officials and representatives from the Indian tyre industry. Developed over the past year with technical assistance from the Rubber Board and the Rubber Research Institute of India, the educational content combines animation with real-life field demonstrations to simplify complex scientific practices for easy adoption.

Project INROAD represents a unique collaboration between the Indian tyre industry and the Rubber Board, with support from Apollo Tyres, CEAT, JK Tyre and MRF. Over the last five years, this partnership has facilitated new rubber plantations across approximately 180,000 hectares in 113 districts of Northeast India, establishing it as the country’s largest plantation development programme of its kind.

Mohan Kurian, Chairman, INROAD Project, said, "Skill development and adoption of scientific practices are essential for improving both productivity and quality in the natural rubber sector. These multilingual videos will serve as an effective training resource for growers and complement the Rubber Board's ongoing extension efforts across the country.”

Sanjiv Saxena, Convener, ATMA Supply Chain & Resources (SCR) Group, said, "The objective of the participating member companies under INROAD is to ensure that rubber growers benefit the most from a stronger natural rubber value chain. By improving productivity and quality, we aim to help farmers realise better returns while strengthening the sustainability of the entire ecosystem."

Muraligopal, who played a key role in coordinating the development of the videos, said, "These videos are the result of close collaboration with the Rubber Board, RRII and field teams across the Northeast. Their guidance and support helped us develop practical, farmer-friendly training modules based on scientific best practices."

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Zeon Corporation has finalised the construction of a new bench-scale facility at its Tokuyama Plant in Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, dedicated to advancing the efficient production of butadiene from sustainable ethanol sources. The project, which broke ground in July 2025, represents a strategic move to establish a naphtha-independent raw material supply chain, thereby bolstering both corporate sustainability and the broader transition towards a carbon-neutral society. The facility is slated to commence full-scale operations in January 2027, with the ultimate goal of achieving commercial viability by 2034.

A commemorative ceremony took place at the plant site on 31 July 2026, drawing a total of 46 attendees. The gathering included official representatives from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and local governmental bodies from Yamaguchi Prefecture and Shunan City. Also present were delegates from the Yokohama Rubber Company, the construction contractor and various affiliated firms, alongside Zeon’s leadership, including Akira Honma, the Corporate Officer and Tokuyama Plant Manager.

This initiative forms one half of a dual-themed research and development programme undertaken in partnership with Yokohama Rubber, under the auspices of NEDO’s Green Innovation Fund. The collaborative effort is focused on the social implementation of technologies for synthesising both butadiene and isoprene from renewable biological materials by the 2030s. As part of this process, Zeon is set to produce a prototype polybutadiene rubber using the output from the new bench-scale facility, while Yokohama Rubber will subsequently manufacture test tyres from this material and conduct performance evaluations on test tracks.

Both companies have outlined a clear roadmap, intending to finalise the core technology for societal deployment by 2030 through the operation of a larger pilot plant, with full-scale commercialisation targeted for 2034. The bench-scale facility is a critical precursor in this phased approach, providing essential data for the scale-up process.

The broader project encompasses two selected NEDO themes, both subsidised through the Green Innovation Fund. The first involves the highly efficient synthesis of butadiene from ethanol, with technical cooperation from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. The second focuses on biotechnological pathways to directly produce butadiene and isoprene from plant-based materials, involving partnerships with the Institute of Science Tokyo and RIKEN. Both tracks aim to supplement synthetic rubber feedstocks and support closed-loop recycling, aligning with Japan’s 2050 net-zero emissions goal by fostering long-term industrial innovation.

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The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) has released its Monthly Natural Rubber Statistical Report for June 2026, a month defined by price resilience amid conflicting market forces. The provisional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz triggered a sharp 20.29 percent drop in Brent crude oil prices to USD 85.40 per barrel. However, this bearish signal was counterbalanced by persistent supply constraints from El Niño-related weather disruptions across major producing regions.

Physical rubber prices posted broad-based gains across most grades. SMR-20 rose 1.39 percent to USD 2.32 per kilogramme, while STR-20 gained 2.61 percent to USD 2.55 per kilogramme. RSS-3 and RSS-4 advanced 4.98 percent and 5.88 percent to USD 3.09 and USD 2.84 per kilogramme, respectively, though latex eased 1.44 percent to USD 1.94 per kilogramme. On the trade front, China's imports surged 7.14 percent month-on-month, while India and Viet Nam declined. Export growth was recorded for Cambodia, Viet Nam and Indonesia, though Thai shipments contracted.

Global production for 2026 is projected at 15.310 million tonnes, up 2.3 percent from 2025, driven by gains in Thailand, China, India and Malaysia. However, June output fell 3.7 percent year-on-year to 1.207 million tonnes due to seasonal wintering and El Niño-related weather disruptions. Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia have introduced new incentive and governance measures to strengthen their sectors. Global consumption is forecast to grow 0.7 percent to 15.411 million tonnes in 2026, with June consumption rising 3.3 percent to 1.300 million tonnes, led by China and India amid steady tyre and EV-related demand.

Currency markets saw the Malaysian ringgit trade between RM3.96 and RM4.08 against the US dollar, while the Thai baht ranged from 32.56 to 33.24. In futures trading, the SHFE September 2026 contract averaged 17,580.68 CNY per tonne, down 0.45 percent month-on-month, while the SGX September contract averaged USD 2.24 per kilogramme, up 1.75 percent, with both reflecting tightening supply and firm downstream demand.

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