Ms. Norberg noted the ground rubber market is also viable for scrap tires, with playground mulch and molded/extruded goods being the two largest markets for ground rubber, while the sports surface market ranks third.
The industry hoped the civil engineering market would be the next big thing, but that hasn't materialized. “It continues to be a viable market where they tried it,” she said, but growth has been challenging in that market.”
The RMA executive said more than half of the 75 million tires still remaining in stockpiles across the U.S. reside in monofills in Colorado. Texas, she added, also has several million tires in stockpiles, but the rest of the country “is looking quite green.”
“Remaining stockpiles are very localized in a limited number of states,” she said.
Canada also has varied scrap tire programs, according to Bob Ferguson, program director for the Canadian Association of Tire Recycling Agencies (CATRA). He attributed that to the vastness of the country and its scattered population.
“There are many models of a stewardship organization,” he said. “Some are run by the government, some are crown agencies, some are industry-led. It causes programs to be somewhat different.”
He said funding models vary as well.
“Most are paid by retailers, and fees vary. For example, fees for Ontario are paid by manufacturers and importers of tires. That adds to the complexity.”
CATRA, which includes all 10 provinces, along with the Yukon Territory, was organized to “enhance the effectiveness of scrap tire diversion and recycling across Canada, through the sharing of information, expertise and resources.” Mr. Ferguson said fees vary widely across the country.
“Why can't they be the same? Well, for many reasons...distance traveled, remoteness from the process.... There's quite a variance from province to province.”
The organization maintains a database for members and other industry stakeholders so that they may share information, debate issues and ideas, and learn from one another.
Mr. Ferguson said Canada recycles nearly 100 percent of its tires, and that its four-year average is 91 percent. Tire recycling revenue across Canada is $170 million.
“We want to track tires and tire-derived products right for the entire life cycle,” he said, “from the time they become used to the time they become marketable, saleable products.”
Europe experiences many of the same issues, according to Jean-Pierre Taverne, technical coordinator, end of life tires, for the European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers' Association (ETRMA). He noted that a European Union directive enacted in 1999 prohibits whole and shredded tires from entering landfills, as of 2006.
He said different regulations are used across Europe.
“The complexity for our organization can be difficult,” Mr. Taverne said. “Some of the regulations we have aren't being enforced. We need strengthened enforcement from authorities.”
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This report appeared in Rubber & Plastics News, an Akron-based sister publication of Tire Business. Don Detore is managing editor of that publication.
