Tyre Baling in the Recycling Chain: Where Baling Fits in the Process

By:     Kieran Donnelly

Baling as a Tyre Processing Route: The Fundamentals

Tyre baling is a distinct end-of-life processing route that converts whole used tyres into dense, tied bales used as a structural engineering material. Unlike shredding, which breaks tyres down into granulated rubber, or retreading, which repairs the tyre for continued vehicle use, baling preserves the tyre’s whole form and uses its physical properties, mass, compressibility, and durability, as the basis for a new functional application.

The civil engineering application that tyre bales serve is well-established, technically documented, and supported by the PAS 108 British Standard that specifies the requirements bales must meet to be used in approved applications. A tyre baling operation that produces PAS 108-compliant bales is not simply disposing of waste; it is manufacturing a civil engineering material from waste tyres, giving those tyres a productive second life measured in decades rather than the months or years of other recycling routes.

Understanding where baling sits in the tyre recycling chain, what it requires to produce commercially viable output, and how it interacts with the other stages of tyre processing, is essential for any business considering entry into tyre recycling through the baling route, or for operations already baling that want to improve their throughput and output quality.

Gradeall International is the leading manufacturer of tyre baling equipment, with the MKII tyre baler used in tyre recycling operations across the UK and in over 100 countries. Manufactured from Gradeall’s Dungannon, Northern Ireland facility, the MKII and the broader tyre recycling equipment range represent nearly 40 years of development and refinement specifically for the tyre baling application.

The Position of Baling in the Tyre Processing Sequence

Baling in the tyre recycling chain is not the final processing step in the way that shredding and granulation culminate in crumb rubber. Rather, baling is a route-determining decision that occurs after sorting and before any further size reduction, taking tyres that are suitable for whole baling off the shredding pathway entirely.

Stage one: Intake and sorting. Incoming tyres are sorted by type and condition. Car and light van tyres that are whole (no significant structural damage, no rims attached) are identified as baling candidates. Truck tyres, OTR tyres, damaged car tyres with significant cuts or structural failure, and tyres still mounted on rims are sorted to different processing routes.

Stage two: Rim separation for baling candidates. Any car tyres arriving with rims still attached must have the rims removed before baling. A tyre bale containing a rim is non-compliant with PAS 108, and the rim’s steel content can damage the baling chamber. Gradeall’s tyre rim separator removes rims efficiently before baling.

Stage three: Baling. Clean, whole, rim-free car and light van tyres are fed into the tyre baler. The MKII tyre baler compresses a batch of tyres (approximately 100 car tyres per bale) under hydraulic pressure, and the compressed bale is retained by steel wire ties before being wrapped in geotextile fabric to meet PAS 108 requirements. The wrapped bale is the finished product.

Stage four: Bale storage and dispatch. Finished bales are stored on a hardstanding area awaiting collection by civil engineering contractors. The bale storage area must be organised and accessible to collection vehicles; bales are typically removed by telehandler or forklift onto flatbed vehicles.

What Makes a Good Tyre Baling Candidate

Not every used tyre is suitable for PAS 108 baling. The sorting process at intake determines which tyres proceed to baling and which go to other routes. The criteria for baling suitability:

Tyre type. PAS 108 specifies that bales should consist predominantly of passenger car and light van tyres. The standard was developed for tyres in this size range; larger tyres (truck, agricultural, OTR) are not appropriate for standard PAS 108 bales produced by the MKII baler. Gradeall’s truck tyre baler produces truck tyre bales for civil engineering applications, but these are specified separately from standard PAS 108 car tyre bales.

Structural integrity. Tyres with major cuts, blowout damage, or significant structural deformation still bale, but the PAS 108 standard requires that bales maintain their structural characteristics over time. A bale containing many structurally compromised tyres may not achieve the same long-term performance as one made from predominantly intact tyres. In practice, most tyres removed from vehicles are sufficiently intact for baling purposes.

Absence of rims. Rims must be removed before baling. A tyre on a rim cannot be baled to PAS 108 specification and would damage the baling equipment.

No contamination. Tyres heavily contaminated with oil, chemical spill residue, or other materials that could leach from the bale in its civil engineering application should not be baled. Standard wear from road use does not constitute contamination.

The MKII Tyre Baler: Engineering for PAS 108 Output

The MKII tyre baler is specifically engineered to produce PAS 108-compliant bales consistently and efficiently. The engineering decisions that make the MKII suited to this application:

Bale dimensions. The MKII produces bales within the dimensional tolerances specified in PAS 108: approximately 1.55 to 1.6 metres long, 1.2 metres wide, 0.7 to 0.8 metres high. These dimensions are set by the chamber geometry of the machine, ensuring that every bale produced meets the specification without requiring individual measurement and adjustment.

Compression force. The hydraulic system applies sufficient force to compress approximately 100 car tyres to the bale density required by PAS 108. The compressive force and the pressure-time cycle are engineered to achieve the required density consistently across different tyre types and sizes within the car/light van range.

Wire tying. The compressed bale is tied with steel wire at multiple points to maintain its compressed form after ejection from the chamber. The wire spacing and tensile specification are matched to the expansion forces of the compressed tyre bale.

Throughput. The MKII produces up to six bales per hour, enabling a single-shift baling operation to produce 35 to 45 bales per day. This throughput is commercially viable for a dedicated baling business processing several hundred thousand car tyres per year.

The inclined tyre baler conveyor feeds tyres to the MKII automatically, replacing the manual loading process and significantly improving throughput consistency. A conveyor-fed MKII operates closer to its rated throughput across a shift than a manually loaded machine, because the conveyor feed maintains a consistent supply rather than the variable pace of manual loading.

Baling vs. Shredding: The Route Decision

For a tyre recycler receiving mixed car and truck tyres, the decision about which tyres go to baling and which to shredding is a commercial and technical one that directly affects profitability. The general principle: car tyres in suitable condition go to baling first, with any unsuitable car tyres and all truck, agricultural, and OTR tyres going to shredding or other processing routes.

The commercial case for prioritising baling over shredding for suitable car tyres is based on the typical comparison between PAS 108 bale revenue and crumb rubber production economics for the same tyres. Baling requires less energy per tyre processed, has lower capital cost per unit of processing capacity, and produces an output (civil engineering bales) that has good commercial value when demand from civil engineering projects is available. The limitation of baling is that it depends on civil engineering project demand, which can be regional and project-specific rather than continuously available at a stable price.

A tyre recycling operation that has developed strong relationships with civil engineering contractors in its region and can consistently sell its bale output is typically more profitable on its car tyre stream than one directing the same tyres to crumb rubber shredding. The challenge is developing and maintaining those buyer relationships; new entrants to the baling market need to invest in this commercial development alongside the equipment investment.

Geotextile Wrapping: The PAS 108 Requirement That Completes the Bale

PAS 108 requires that tyre bales be wrapped in geotextile fabric before use in civil engineering applications. The geotextile wrap serves two purposes: it prevents direct contact between the rubber tyre surfaces and the surrounding soil or fill material, which mitigates the risk of rubber leachates entering the soil and groundwater; and it provides a surface that integrates with the surrounding fill material more predictably than exposed rubber tyre surfaces.

Geotextile wrapping is applied at the baling facility after the bale is produced and tied. The wrapping process is manual and relatively straightforward: sheets of appropriate geotextile are wrapped around the bale and secured. The specific geotextile specification (permeability, weight, material type) is set by the civil engineering project specification, and tyre balers should confirm the required specification with the receiving project before wrapping production bales.

“The bale is where the tyre recycling chain and the civil engineering supply chain meet,” says Conor Murphy, Director of Gradeall International. “Getting the bale right, to PAS 108 specification consistently, is what opens the door to the civil engineering market. Our MKII baler is specifically designed to produce compliant bales, and we support operators through the specification and commissioning process to make sure they’re producing what the market needs.”

Contact Gradeall International for MKII tyre baler specification, installation, and operational support.

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