In Texas, unsightly piles of used and scrap tyres are increasingly being turned into fuel, or used as mulch in landscapes.
TCEQ Reports an Increase in the Texas Tyre Recycling Rate
For the past three years the number of tyres being recycled or repurposed has gone from 35.5 per cent in 2015 to 44 per cent in 2017—an 8.2 per cent increase in tyres being recycled or repurposed according to TCEQ.
Of the scrap or used tyres collected, the main end-uses include tyre-derived fuel sources, crumb rubber production, land reclamation projects, other beneficial uses, and other types of recycling.
Santos Olivarez, the Business and Program Services work leader of the TCEQ’s Waste Permits Division Scrap Tire Program, says “The increase in tyres being recycled can be attributed to a combination of factors, such as proper handling of tyres and better reporting. Growth in the state and tyres from salvage cars as a result of Hurricane Harvey are two factors that contributed to the increase in the number of tyres handled through the programme.”