Russia: 40-50% of tyres recycled

Little or no more than half of all end-of-life tyres removed from vehicles in Russia are currently recycled, reports the general director of Russian Environmental Operator (REO), the public company established in 2019 to establish waste handling systems. Imploring motorists to bring their old tyres to designated collection points, Denis Butasev comments: “Every year, about 1 million tonnes of tyres in Russia become waste. At the same time, according to market participants, 40-50 per cent of tyre waste is currently recycled, or about 500 thousand tonnes annually.

According to official figures, more than 80 firms process the half million or so tonnes of tyres recycled in Russia each year, but REO notes that the number of recycling operations may actually exceed 200. Most of these recycling enterprises produce low-grade products such as large rubber crumb and rubber chips for use in floor surfacing.