Dutch Tyre Processing and Recycling: RecyBEM and Equipment Specifications

By:     Conor Murphy

The Netherlands’ Tyre Recycling Market: European Standard-Setter

Dutch tyre processing operates within one of Europe’s most efficiently run stewardship systems, with collection rates and processing performance that consistently place the Netherlands among the EU’s best-performing markets. The Dutch approach reflects the country’s broader environmental policy culture: pragmatic, outcome-focused, and built on producer responsibility mechanisms that align commercial incentives with environmental objectives.

With approximately 9 million registered vehicles across a densely populated country of 17 million people, the Netherlands generates an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 tonnes of used tyres annually. That volume, combined with the Netherlands’ role as a European logistics and processing hub, supports a mature tyre recycling industry with established crumb rubber production, civil engineering bale supply, and energy recovery operations. Dutch tyre recycling businesses operate in a competitive market with well-developed end markets for processed tyre products both domestically and across the broader European region.

The Netherlands’ geographic position as Western Europe’s logistics gateway gives Dutch tyre processing a structural advantage that smaller, more peripheral European markets simply don’t have. The Port of Rotterdam handles the largest cargo volumes in Europe, providing Dutch processors with straightforward access to export markets for crumb rubber and other processed tyre materials. The ability to draw on tyre volumes from adjacent Belgian, German, and Scandinavian markets further strengthens that position, giving Dutch processors a regional reach that extends well beyond their domestic waste stream.

Gradeall International supplies tyre processing equipment to Dutch operations from its Dungannon, Northern Ireland, manufacturing base. The MKII tyre baler, MK3 tyre baler, truck tyre sidewall cutter, tyre rim separator, and the full tyre recycling equipment range serve Dutch processors. With nearly 40 years of manufacturing experience and equipment in over 100 countries, Gradeall has supported Dutch tyre recycling operations across the development of one of Europe’s most sophisticated markets.

RecyBEM: How the Dutch System Works

RecyBEM is the Dutch foundation (stichting) responsible for managing end-of-life tyres in the Netherlands, established by the tyre industry under a covenant (convenant) with the Dutch government. The RecyBEM system operates under the Extended Producer Responsibility principles that underpin Dutch environmental policy, with tyre producers and importers collectively funding the collection and processing of end-of-life tyres through RecyBEM.

The advance disposal fee. RecyBEM’s funding comes from an advance disposal fee (vooruitbetaalde verwijderingsbijdrage, or VVB) collected at the point of sale of new tyres. The VVB is included in the price the consumer pays for new tyres; it appears as a separate line item on tyre retailer invoices. The fee is remitted to RecyBEM by tyre importers and manufacturers, and the fund accumulates to cover collection, transport, and processing costs.

Collection network. RecyBEM organises collection from approximately 3,500 collection points across the Netherlands, including tyre dealers (bandenhandelaren), automotive service centres, vehicle dismantlers (autosloperijen), and fleet operators. Tyre retailers are obligated to accept used tyres from customers at the point of new tyre purchase, free of charge. RecyBEM-contracted collectors visit collection points on scheduled routes, providing efficient collection logistics across the Netherlands’ compact geography.

Processing contracts. RecyBEM contracts with approved processors who meet the foundation’s requirements for environmental compliance (Omgevingsvergunning under the Dutch Environmental Management Act), processing capability, data management, and quality standards. RecyBEM’s processing requirements are detailed and technically demanding; the Dutch system’s consistently high performance reflects the quality of both the collection logistics and the processing standards RecyBEM enforces.

Transparency and reporting. RecyBEM publishes detailed annual performance data, including collection volumes, processing route breakdown, and recycling rates. This transparency is characteristic of the Dutch approach to environmental governance; the data support both public accountability and continuous improvement in the system’s performance.

Dutch Regulatory Framework

The Dutch Environmental Management Act (Wet milieubeheer, Wm). The Environmental Management Act provides the primary framework for waste management regulation in the Netherlands, establishing the general duty of care (zorgplicht), the licensing requirements for waste management facilities, and the basis for product stewardship (uitgebreide producentenverantwoordelijkheid, UPV) regulations.

The Tyre Decree. The Netherlands has a specific Besluit beheer autobanden (Tyre Management Decree) that establishes the framework for RecyBEM’s operations and the obligations of tyre producers and importers. The decree creates the legal basis for the advance disposal fee mechanism and the producer responsibility obligations that fund RecyBEM.

The Omgevingsvergunning. Dutch waste processing facilities require an environmental permit (Omgevingsvergunning) under the Environment and Planning Act (Wet milieu en ruimtelijke ordening) from the relevant competent authority (typically the province for larger facilities, or the municipality for smaller operations). The permit process is managed through the Omgevingsloket digital platform; permit conditions include waste acceptance criteria, processing methods, emissions limits, and environmental monitoring requirements.

Dutch Green Deal and transition agenda. The Netherlands’ national environmental agenda, including the circular economy transition agenda (transitieagenda circulaire economie), sets ambitious targets for circular material use. Tyres are explicitly addressed in the Dutch circular economy agenda; the transition toward higher-value material recovery from tyre rubber (devulcanisation, chemical recycling) over energy recovery is part of the long-term policy direction. RecyBEM’s processing contract payment structure reflects this hierarchy preference.

Processing Routes in the Dutch Market

Crumb rubber. The Netherlands has well-established crumb rubber production serving both domestic and export markets. Domestic demand comes from sports surfaces (artificial turf for football and other sports, athletics tracks), playground safety surfacing, equestrian arenas, and industrial rubber products. The Netherlands’s large stock of artificial turf football pitches, one of the densest in Europe, represents a significant demand for crumb rubber; ongoing replacement and renovation of ageing artificial turf pitches sustain consistent crumb rubber consumption.

The Netherlands has also been at the centre of the European debate on PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in artificial turf infill. Dutch environmental and health authorities have been among the most active in Europe in investigating PFAS in rubber crumb infill and in assessing whether replacement materials should be mandated. Dutch tyre recyclers and crumb rubber producers should closely monitor developments in Dutch PFAS policy; regulatory changes affecting crumb rubber infill use in artificial turf would materially affect a significant end market.

Civil engineering baling. The Netherlands has a well-established civil engineering tyre bale market, with applications in dike reinforcement and coastal protection (highly relevant given the Netherlands’ geography and its ongoing water management programmes), road embankment fill, and drainage systems. The Dutch water management authority (Rijkswaterstaat) and water boards (waterschappen) are involved in coastal and water infrastructure projects where tyre bales have been documented to have applications. The MKII tyre baler produces bales to PAS 108 specifications, which are referenced in Dutch civil engineering project specifications.

Devulcanisation. The Netherlands has been an active site of devulcanisation technology development, with Dutch companies and research institutions working to commercialise processes that break the sulphur crosslinks in vulcanised rubber and recover devulcanised rubber for use in new rubber products. Commercial-scale devulcanisation in the Netherlands is at a more advanced stage than in most EU markets; Dutch tyre recyclers who can supply pre-processed rubber feedstock to devulcanisation operations are positioned for higher-value recovery routes as these technologies scale.

Equipment Specification for Dutch Operations

The MKII in the Dutch market. The MKII tyre baler produces six PAS 108-compliant bales per hour from the standard Dutch car tyre stream, with the inclined tyre baler conveyor maximising throughput in a continuous operation. Dutch processors using the MKII with automated tyre feed achieve the throughput rates that make civil engineering bale production commercially viable alongside crumb rubber and other processing routes.

Truck tyre processing. Dutch truck tyre volumes, generated by the Netherlands’ very significant road freight sector, require Gradeall’s truck tyre sidewall cutter and truck tyre rim separator for commercial vehicle tyre processing.

“The Netherlands is one of Europe’s most sophisticated tyre recycling markets, with RecyBEM providing an excellent framework for processors who meet its quality requirements,” says Conor Murphy, Director of Gradeall International. “The devulcanisation technology development adds an interesting higher-value route development angle that Dutch operators are well-positioned to pursue as the technology matures. Our equipment serves the established baling and processing routes that are the commercial foundation of Dutch tyre recycling.”

Contact Gradeall International for tyre processing equipment for Dutch RecyBEM-participating operations.

FAQs

← Back to news