Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) has highlighted that despite major new recycling facilities in Western Australia, more than 100,000 tonnes of mining tyres are still legally buried each year. The opening of Tyrecycle’s dedicated OTR tyre recycling plant in Port Hedland demonstrates the capability of industry investment, with the site already diverting 1,500 tonnes in its first year and designed to process up to 30,000 tonnes annually.

TSA’s five-year benchmark report, the Material Flow Analysis, shows that only around 5% of Australia’s mining tyres are recovered. According to TSA, the barrier is not infrastructure or technology, but regulation that continues to permit pit burial even where recycling options are available.

TSA CEO Lina Goodman described the new facilities as “some of the world’s best tyre recycling facilities,” but noted that without legislative change, they will remain underutilised. In a recent ABC News interview, she warned of the risk that plants could be mothballed if the rules allowing pit burial are not revised.

The organisation argues that significant investments are at stake. Without a consistent supply of used tyres to recycling plants, valuable resources such as natural rubber will continue to be lost, and taxpayer-funded infrastructure will not reach its potential.

More details on Tyre Stewardship Australia’s position and reports are available on TSA’s website.