News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

Recovered carbon black can vary significantly depending on tire feedstock, pyrolysis conditions, milling, pelletizing and post-processing. These variations can influence handling, dispersion and final rubber performance, making quality control essential for producers seeking approval from tire and rubber manufacturers.

Mexico’s Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport is incorporating recycled rubber from end-of-life tires into asphalt maintenance on a 6.3-kilometer section of the federal Pachuca-Querétaro highway in Hidalgo. The project, carried out by SICT’s regional center in Hidalgo, covers the section between kilometer 61+500 and kilometer 67+800 on carriageway B, from Portezuelo in Tasquillo to the Hidalgo-Querétaro state border. The works are expected to take approximately two months, depending on operating and site conditions. By using ground rubber recovered from waste tires in the asphalt mixture, SICT aims to combine highway maintenance with circular economy principles, giving end-of-life tires a productive application in road infrastructure while reducing the amount of difficult-to-manage rubber waste.

Ontario is redirecting approximately C$34 million in surplus funds from the former Ontario Tire Stewardship program to registered producer responsibility organizations as the province responds to widespread used tire collection disruptions and growing stockpiles at dealers and collection sites. The funding decision follows amendments to Ontario’s Tires Regulation that raise the mandatory tire management target from 65% to 80% for 2026 and subsequent years and require the collection network to expand from about 4,300 sites to approximately 6,500 from January 2027. The province says the additional funding is intended to help PROs cover the cost of collecting and processing the extra tire volumes required under the higher target while limiting pressure to increase environmental handling fees charged to consumers. The changes come after months of complaints from tire dealers, municipalities and industry groups that used tires were accumulating because collection services were not keeping pace with generation.

HITEC Luxembourg participated in Recovered Carbon Black Asia 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand, marking the company’s first appearance at the Asian edition of the industry event. Over two days, the company engaged with more than 200 professionals from across the recovered carbon black value chain and demonstrated its Individual Pellet Hardness Tester, or IPHT, as a tool for evaluating pellet quality and consistency. HITEC emphasized that reliable batch-to-batch performance remains one of the central requirements for broader commercial adoption of recovered carbon black in tire, rubber and other industrial applications. The company also used the event to strengthen cooperation with regional partners CG Engineering in Thailand and Highest Instruments in China, reflecting growing demand in Asia for quality control, laboratory testing and process monitoring technologies supporting recovered carbon black production.

Global commodities trader Gunvor Group has changed its name to Centalion Group Ltd. and plans to move its corporate headquarters from Cyprus to Singapore following a management-led ownership change. The new identity took effect in October 2026 after an internal referendum in July and is intended to reflect both the company’s new ownership structure and its expansion beyond traditional oil trading into natural gas, metals and power. The development is also relevant to the tire pyrolysis sector because the former Gunvor signed a strategic agreement with Hungary-based New Energy in 2025 to purchase tire pyrolysis oil produced from end-of-life tires for use as refinery feedstock. While the rebranding announcement does not indicate any change to that cooperation, future activities under the agreement would now take place under the Centalion identity.

Compañía Minera Lomas Bayas in Chile recovered and valorized 289.36 tonnes of end-of-life tires during 2025, reaching 202% of the 143-tonne target established for the period under the country’s Extended Producer Responsibility framework. The result was certified by Michelin and marks the second consecutive year in which Lomas Bayas has received recognition for its management of Category B waste tires. The mining company uses a coordinated logistics model that tracks tires from their arrival at the site through removal and recycling, with the same trucks that deliver new tires collecting end-of-life units and transporting them to Michelin’s recycling plant in Antofagasta. In 2026, Lomas Bayas expanded the model further and expects to remove around 350 additional waste tires from the mine for recycling, reinforcing the role of traceability, coordinated logistics and producer responsibility in the circular management of mining tires.

Bridgestone is expanding its work on recovered carbon black as part of its long-term goal to manufacture products using 100% sustainable materials by 2050, combining internal research with partnerships across the tire recycling, pyrolysis and carbon black industries. Speaking during the recovered carbon black symposium at the 2026 Global Polymer Summit in Louisville, Kentucky, Bridgestone representatives highlighted both the potential of rCB from end-of-life tire pyrolysis and the technical challenges that still limit broader adoption in new tires. The tire manufacturer is working on material qualification, performance consistency, specifications and advanced processing technologies while collaborating with carbon black producers, universities, pyrolysis companies and other tire manufacturers. Bridgestone sees recovered carbon black as an important circular raw material because it can return carbon already contained in end-of-life tires to tire manufacturing, reducing dependence on virgin fossil-based carbon black and helping establish tire-to-tire material loops.

Ecolomondo Corporation and four related companies remain subject to proceedings under Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act as court-appointed monitor KPMG continues efforts to restructure or sell the tire recycling technology business. The Quebec Superior Court initially granted CCAA protection on May 21, 2026, covering Ecolomondo Corporation, Ecolomondo Environmental (Hawkesbury) Inc., Ecolomondo Environmental (Contrecoeur) Inc., 9083-5018 Québec Inc. and Ecolomondo Advanced Carbon Technologies Inc. Since then, the court has repeatedly extended the stay of proceedings while KPMG has stabilized operations and conducted a Sale and Investment Solicitation Process. A successful bid has been selected and KPMG has been working to finalize an asset purchase agreement with a potential purchaser. The most recently published court order on KPMG’s creditor information page extended the stay through October 9, 2026, while the monitor completed negotiations. The proceedings are particularly relevant to the tire recycling sector because Ecolomondo developed its proprietary Thermal Decomposition Process for recovering tire-derived oil, recovered carbon black, steel and other materials from end-of-life tires.

Tyrewise said more than 8 million end-of-life tires have now been collected through the scheme since its launch in September 2024. The achievement comes just two years after regulated stewardship began operating nationwide. The organization said responsible management of end-of-life tires is increasingly becoming standard practice across New Zealand’s automotive industry, supported by collaboration among businesses participating in the scheme.