Recycled tyres as a resource
How your business can use recycled tyres, what the benefits are, the quality standards and where to source them.
Tyres under a certain size and shredded tyre material are banned from landfill, so there is likely to be a regular supply of materials from reprocessed tyres.
How to use recycled tyres in your business
You can use tyres or derived materials for a number of different applications including:
- construction - eg roof tiling, acoustic barriers and waterproof membranes
- landscaping - eg paving, walkways and porous piping
- horticulture - eg mulches, composting and drainage infill
- civil engineering - eg sea defences
- retreading or reuse as part-worns
- playground facilities
- sports industry - artificial sports tracks and sports barriers
- flooring - eg carpet underlay and matting
- equestrian - eg surfacing
- landfill engineering
- fuel in cement kilns
- footwear
- coasters
- transport - eg traffic management, automotive parts and rubberised asphalt
Retread tyres are made from similar compounds and are legally required to be manufactured to the same strict performance criteria.
Advantages of using recycled tyres
Using recycled tyres is beneficial to your business and the environment because it can:
- reduce costs
- provide a sustainable, safe and durable alternative to new tyres
- reduce the numbers of new tyres needed which minimises waste
Standards and quality protocols for recycling tyres
If you are sourcing materials from recycled tyres to use in your business, you should look for those that conform to certain standards. This will help you buy good quality materials.
Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 107 sets out standards for producing size-reduced tyre rubber from end-of-life tyres.
PAS 108 was developed in collaboration with the tyres reprocessing industry and provides a specification for producing compact tyre bales for use in construction.