Vienna, 30 March 2026 — Weibold welcomes the renewed step by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to seek public comment on removing the reference to “pyrolysis/combustion units” from the definition of “municipal waste combustion unit” in the Other Solid Waste Incineration (OSWI) framework.

For the advanced chemical recycling sector, and particularly for end-of-life tire (ELT) pyrolysis, the development is significant because it reopens a concrete federal rulemaking pathway to better align air regulation with the technical nature of pyrolysis.

In Weibold’s view, this is an important procedural step toward greater regulatory clarity in the United States. The underlying rationale is not new: pyrolysis has long required a more precise treatment than conventional waste combustion, and the need for a clearer distinction has been visible in both industry practice and the federal regulatory record for several years.

Weibold had already addressed this point in its 2021 submission to the EPA, in which the company supported a clearer distinction among pyrolysis, gasification, and OSWI units. The company’s position remains that modern tire pyrolysis should be assessed according to the actual nature of the process and its outputs, rather than being grouped too broadly with incineration concepts that do not reflect current technical reality.

“The EPA’s latest move is important because it returns to a practical and more technically consistent rulemaking path. For ELT pyrolysis, this is not about inventing a new category overnight. It is about giving advanced recycling technologies a clearer and more coherent regulatory treatment under federal air rules,” said Robert Weibold, Founder and CEO of Weibold.

The current federal framework already includes relevant distinctions for certain pyrolysis/combustion units used in plastics and rubber recycling. At the same time, the remaining OSWI wording has continued to create uncertainty in the market. From Weibold’s perspective, the EPA’s current comment process is therefore relevant not only as a legal adjustment, but also as a signal to project developers, investors, technology suppliers, and downstream offtakers that the U.S. regulatory framework continues to move toward a more differentiated understanding of advanced recycling.

For the tire recycling sector, this matters in practical terms. ELT pyrolysis is increasingly linked to the production of usable secondary raw materials, including pyrolysis oil (TPO), recovered carbon black (rCB), and recovered steel. These outputs are central to the circular economy for tires and to the broader effort to reduce reliance on fossil-based raw materials across chemicals, materials, and manufacturing.

Weibold also notes that regulatory developments at the state level have increasingly moved in the same direction. A growing number of U.S. states now classify advanced recycling more favorably than traditional waste disposal or incineration pathways. Against that backdrop, greater clarity at the federal level would help reduce fragmentation and improve planning security for projects that depend on consistent permitting logic.

From a market standpoint, clearer definitions are especially important for scaling commercial projects. Developers, investors, and industrial customers need legal certainty on how pyrolysis units are classified, how associated air permitting is approached, and how advanced recycling is distinguished from energy recovery or disposal. A more exact regulatory framework can help accelerate investment decisions and support the industrial uptake of circular feedstocks derived from waste tires.

“Tire pyrolysis has moved well beyond the experimental stage. The sector now needs regulatory language that reflects operational reality, supports sound permitting, and gives value-chain participants confidence that advanced recycling will be assessed on the basis of process facts, not outdated assumptions,” Robert Weibold added.

Weibold expects the EPA comment process to attract close attention from the advanced recycling, tire recycling, and circular materials sectors. In the company’s assessment, the present initiative offers an opportunity to reduce long-standing ambiguity and to create a more reliable basis for future investment and project development in the United States.

About Weibold

Weibold is an independent international consulting company specializing in tire recycling and end-of-life tire pyrolysis. Since 1999, Weibold has advised plant operators, investors, tire manufacturers, business associations, and public institutions on strategy, technology, markets, due diligence, and project development across the global tire recycling value chain.

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