Recycling options for types of waste materials

Millions of tyres are disposed of each year in the United Kingdom according to the government. However, the disposal of tyres to landfill is now banned. This presents a major opportunity for the use of reprocessed tyres.

Uses for recycled tyres

There are a number of end uses for reprocessed tyre rubber, providing a bigger marketplace for your recycled materials. Examples of end uses of recycled tyres include:

• construction, eg roof tiling, acoustic barriers and waterproof membranes
• landscaping, eg walkways and porous piping
• industrial sealers and fillers
• civil engineering, eg sea defences
• retreading or reuse as part-worns
• playground facilities
• sports industry, eg artificial sports tracks
• flooring, eg carpet underlay and matting
• equestrian, eg surfacing
• landfill engineering
• fuel in cement kilns
• footwear
• coasters
• transport, eg vehicle parts and rubberised asphalt

If you are intending to start recycling tyres, or to expand the amount you recycle and reprocess, you should look into the market conditions for recycled rubber.

Standards and protocols for tyre recycling

Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 107 provides a specification for producing size-reduced tyre rubber from end-of-life tyres. These can come from road vehicles or from off-road vehicles such as agricultural equipment. You can download an introduction to PAS 107 on tyre materials (PDF, 530K).

British Standard PAS 108 provides a specification for producing compact tyre bales for use in construction.