Peter Taylor OBE, tyre industry veteran with vast experience in new tyre and recycling markets around the world, is a former Director of the International Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ITMA Europe), Secretary General of the UK Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) and Vice President of the European Tyre Recycling Association (ETRA). Taylor, a prolific writer on industry matters, spoke to Tyre Trends on TRA’s role in sustainability drive.

Please elaborate on TRA’s (Tyre Recovery Association, UK) operations in the recovery process and further handling of recovered tyres

The TRA is a UK industry-wide association of ELT collectors and recyclers founded almost two decades ago when it has to be said interest in tyre recycling and its potential was a great deal less than it is today.

The ‘driver’ behind the push to beneficially recycle much more of our waste was undoubtedly the EU Landfill Directive which required that by 2006 almost all of our end-of-life tyres both here, in the UK and across Europe be appropriately reused or recycled. Here in the UK, we have largely met this requirement though like other countries, sometimes imperfectly.

The underlying concept behind the Landfill Directive was the notion of Producer Responsibility. This, however, was never clearly defined. In many countries the ‘producer’ was rather imperfectly defined as the ‘manufacturer’ of the product whereas elsewhere such as here in the UK, our government opted for the concept of shared PR, thus placing an onus on everyone in the recovery chain from manufacturer and importer through distributor and retailer to consumers, collectors and recyclers. This broader UK approach helped us build on our existing infrastructure and evolve a wider market-based approach to tyre recycling. That said, no ELT recovery programme is wholly effective in eliminating bad practices but we believe that a more effective monitoring pinch point in the recovery chain is not where our new tyres are first introduced into a market, but where they are ultimately removed from a wheel, i.e., the ‘pull’ rather than the ‘push’ approach. Almost from the outset we, as an association, set out to build a credible best practice approach to ELT recycling which would have broad industry support, we named this the TRA Responsible Recycler Scheme (RRS). All full TRA members subscribe to this and are required to be regularly audited for compliance and today, I am pleased to say that some three-quarters of all UK ELT’s are responsibly handled by our members supported by most retailers and manufacturers. As a purely voluntary approach to recycling, we are proud of this, in purely tonnage terms alone, we are the largest single recovery initiative almost anywhere in the world.

So, what now? ELT recovery markets everywhere are in flux as new markets for ELT-derived materials evolve as we exit the very undesirable trade in baled-tyre exports which undermined market stability here in Europe and well beyond.

In moving forward our challenge and great opportunity will be to better valorise ELT-derived materials by better exploiting their great intrinsic worth. As important a concept producer responsibility is, we should avoid being totally captivated by it at the cost of ignoring the simple principles of the waste hierarchy.

Our old tyres are more than a convenient fuel but potentially full of market opportunity for the very many other products derived from processes such as granulation and for very significant emerging technologies like pyrolysis and its by-products. This must be our direction of travel.

How much of a competitive edge you have in the market, compared with other recyclers?

We are of course an industry association and not an individual business but our propositions, and those of our members are simple, they are:

Best Practice – Legal Compliance – Customer Confidence

Here in the UK the concept of ‘Duty of Care’ is underpinned in law and potentially applies to every player in the recovery chain which is one more reason we enjoy such a large measure of cross-industry support.

Your view on how huge is the potential of tyre recycling sector in future?

We believe that the potential for tyre recycling everywhere is exponential, we are simply at the foothills of the possible as just a glance back at the waste hierarchy pyramid demonstrates all too clearly. Countries only have to compare their own current performances against the valorisation objectives of the pyramid. However, getting there is not simple. To do so will require entrepreneurship, investment and market confidence, elements which some of the more rigid approaches to ELT recycling will struggle to engage with. Recycling is not an acronym for convenient ‘disposal’ but a journey into ever greater resource efficiency.

On the challenges you face, including whether you get any support from government environmental agencies

The way in which we handle our ELT arisings here in the UK is often dubbed the ‘free market’ approach but this is very misleading. A better description of our approach would be ‘market-based with strong regulatory underpinning’. Our environmental laws are strict though not always as business friendly as we would like them to be. Good regulation should not just be about managing compliance but of providing a basis for market stability and the best possible conditions for market growth. I hope we will slowly get there and one of our prime duties is to engage proactively with the government and other regulators to help them adapt to this mindset.

In all of this however, it is all too easy to point the finger of responsibility at those who rule us, some of the responsibility is ours too and it was with this in mind when we first launched our Responsible Recycler Scheme all those years ago now. We chose to lead, rather than wait to be led and to help mould our futures rather than be made the reluctant captives of often inappropriate official policies and initiatives. The choice was ours as much as it will be yours in India and in very many other parts of the world.

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The Alliance for the Future of Tires (AZuR) has confirmed its participation as a cooperation partner for the tyre material flow for an interactive event on the Digital Product Passport (DPP), scheduled for 16 June 2026 at the Bottrop campus of Ruhr West University of Applied Sciences. With the European Union planning to introduce DPP from 2028, the initiative aims to establish greater transparency, resource conservation and functional material cycles. The upcoming gathering will focus on practical applications and future prospects for industry, trade, recycling and the circular economy.

The European Union has classified tyres as a priority product group under the new Ecodesign Regulation. The digital passport will provide accessible data on a tyre’s entire lifecycle, including material composition, carbon dioxide emissions, repair history, retreading suitability and recycling methods, potentially via QR codes or radio-frequency identification technology on the tyre itself.

Significant potential exists for the tyre recycling sector. Retreaders will be able to quickly assess casing history, mileage and past repairs to determine suitability for retreading. Recyclers will gain improved material transparency regarding ingredients, additives and recycled content, thereby facilitating both mechanical and chemical recycling. Thus, the passport can support longer tyre use and more efficient recovery of valuable raw materials.

AZuR views DPP as a key step towards advancing the tyre circular economy. Several manufacturers are already working on pilot projects, including Michelin’s coordination of a scalable system through the CIRPASS-2 project, standardisation efforts by Bridgestone and Michelin via the Global Data Service Organisation and AZuR partners’ work on radio-frequency identification and digital traceability. The upcoming university event offers companies, researchers and municipalities an early opportunity to address the passport’s requirements and develop practical solutions.

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Continental marked a major milestone on 22 May 2026 during opening ceremonies for the second expansion phase of its Rayong plant in Thailand. The development includes growth for the Passenger and Light Truck Tires division and the start of radial production for motorcycle tyres.

The Rayong motorcycle tyre facility operates with fully in-house manufacturing, from rubber compounds to finished products, using modern equipment. All processes adhere to Continental’s global quality and control standards, enabling production of both radial and diagonal tyres with capacity for future expansion. A high degree of automation and automatic monitoring systems eliminate manual errors while maintaining strict quality checks at every step.

Continental’s Rayong production serves diverse riding styles, including sport-touring and adventure touring segments, with popular radial and diagonal tyre models already in production. In March 2026, the plant received IATF certification, meeting international automotive standards that guarantee continuous quality processes and supply reliability for original-equipment customers.

The expansion also reflects Continental’s sustainability commitment, with solar energy supplying about 13 percent of the plant’s electricity needs. Additionally, the project has created new jobs, strengthening the regional economy.

Christoph Ettenhuber, Head of Business Field Motorcycle Tires, Continental, said, “By expanding our facility in Thailand, we are strategically strengthening our global production structure for Continental Motorcycle Tires. Together with our established operations in our Korbach plant in Germany, we are laying the groundwork for a faster, more flexible response to market demands. Rayong is a key component of our international motorcycle tyre strategy and underscores our clear commitment to growth and state-of-the-art production processes. For our customers, this means premium quality made by Continental – no matter which continent they’re on or which roads they travel."

Sahil Agrawal, Head of Manufacturing Operations in Rayong, said, “Quality is our top priority – for our original equipment customers as well as for end consumers. Our system captures every detail: all tyres are fully traceable at every production step. Online monitoring systems such as automatic scales, profilometers and camera systems ensure that every component is within specification limits. Automation – from the green tyre spray system to automatic tool management – enables us to achieve maximum quality levels while creating an ergonomic and safe working environment.”

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Bridgestone Corporation has once again been selected as a constituent of several globally recognised environmental, social and governance (ESG) indexes, including the Dow Jones Best-in-Class World Index, the FTSE4Good Index Series, the MSCI Selection Indexes, the FTSE JPX Blossom Japan Index, the FTSE JPX Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index, the MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index and the MSCI Japan Equity ESG Select Leaders Index.

The Japanese tyre giant’s continued inclusion in these rankings serves as a concrete and objective embodiment of its corporate mission to serve society with superior quality. Company leadership views the ability to sustain such ESG initiatives over many years as a distinct organisational strength.

Regarding the Dow Jones indexes, Bridgestone has been selected for the Best-in-Class World Index for four consecutive years since 2022, which recognises the top 10 percent of sustainability leaders among 2,500 major global companies. The firm has also maintained a place in the Best-in-Class Asia Pacific Index for 16 straight years since 2010.

In the FTSE Russell assessments, Bridgestone has achieved eight consecutive years of selection for the FTSE4Good Index Series since 2018, alongside the same duration for the FTSE JPX Blossom Japan Index. The company has also been included in the FTSE JPX Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index for five consecutive years since 2021. For MSCI, Bridgestone has secured three straight years of selection for the MSCI Selection Indexes since 2023 while receiving the highest AAA rating in the MSCI ESG Ratings for three consecutive years.

The company has additionally earned high marks from the international non-profit CDP, receiving an A minus rating in both Climate Change and Water Security for 2025, marking six consecutive years at the leadership level. Bridgestone also obtained an A rating in the Supplier Engagement Rating for the seventh time. Key initiatives behind these recognitions include the expansion of its sustainability business model towards carbon neutrality and a circular economy, actions supporting nature positive goals such as sustainable natural rubber and water resource management, a comprehensive due diligence system based on Plan-Do-Check-Act cycles for human rights and environmental risk and global policy execution guidelines.

Bridgestone places sustainability at the core of its management, aiming to implement and evolve its unique business model across the entire value chain from production and use to renewal and raw materials. These efforts link business operations directly to the realisation of carbon neutrality, a circular economy and a nature positive world.

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Tegeta Green Planet and Shine Energy, both affiliated with Tegeta Holding, have launched a joint educational initiative to raise environmental awareness and a sense of responsibility among young people. The project addresses modern challenges such as environmental protection and sustainable development.

Company representatives are visiting schools across Tbilisi to hold informational meetings, presentations and workshops. The programme begins with presentations, followed by interactive games and activities designed to help students retain the information. At the end of each session, participants receive symbolic gifts and prizes as motivation.

Tegeta Green Planet focuses on teaching students the principles of specific waste management, including how to properly handle used tyres, batteries and oils. The sessions explain why proper waste management is essential for environmental protection and how it connects to the circular economy. Meanwhile, Shine Energy educates young people on the importance of energy, its everyday use and why developing renewable and sustainable energy resources is crucial.

The initiative is not limited to schools. In the near future, both organisations will expand their efforts to universities, aiming to broaden awareness about environmental protection, waste management and energy efficiency. The ultimate goal is to foster environmentally responsible attitudes among the younger generation, helping build a more sustainable and conscious society.

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