Which Countries Recycle the Most Tyres? Global Rankings and Comparisons

By:     Conor Murphy

Have you ever wondered which countries recycle the most tyres? Comparing tyre recycling performance across countries requires methodological care. Different countries measure and report recycling performance through different systems, using varying definitions of what qualifies as recycling versus recovery, different collection rate calculation methodologies, and very different levels of transparency and frequency in public reporting. A country reporting a 90 per cent collection rate through a mandatory, independently audited producer responsibility system is demonstrating something fundamentally different from a country claiming equivalent performance through industry self-reporting with no independent verification.

With those caveats clearly stated, the broad pattern of global tyre recycling performance is sufficiently clear and consistent across multiple data sources to draw meaningful conclusions. The highest-performing countries are concentrated in Northern and Western Europe, where producer responsibility systems are mandatory, well-funded, independently audited, and supported by strong regulatory enforcement cultures.

Mid-range performers include most EU member states, Japan, South Korea, and Australia: markets with structured management systems but varying collection completeness and end market development. The lowest performers are found across much of sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Central America, and parts of the Middle East, where regulatory frameworks are either absent or unenforced, commercial processing infrastructure is underdeveloped, and illegal dumping or stockpiling of tyre waste remains common.

Understanding where different countries sit in this performance spectrum, and why, is valuable for businesses considering tyre processing investment in any global market. The regulatory and market development trajectory of a country determines whether processing infrastructure investment will be supported by adequate tyre supply through legitimate collection channels and by viable end market demand for processed products.

Gradeall International has supplied tyre processing equipment to operations in over 100 countries, giving the company direct operational experience of tyre recycling market conditions across the full global performance spectrum. The MKII tyre baler, truck tyre sidewall cutter, and the full tyre recycling equipment range serve processors from the Netherlands’ near-perfect collection environment to developing markets building their first processing infrastructure.

Top Tier: Near-Complete Collection and Processing

The Netherlands. RecyBEM’s independently audited annual performance data consistently shows collection rates of 96 to 100 per cent of annual tyre generation, making the Netherlands the benchmark for global tyre stewardship performance. The Dutch system’s success rests on a combination of factors that together create a near-complete collection: mandatory advance disposal fee collection from all importers without exception, well-funded collection logistics covering the country’s compact geography, rigorously enforced dealer acceptance obligations, technically demanding processor approval requirements, and annual transparent public reporting.

The Netherlands also leads in developing higher-value processing routes; Dutch investment in devulcanisation technology positions the country for the next generation of tyre rubber recovery beyond crumb rubber.

Sweden. SDAB’s performance data shows collection rates consistently close to 100 per cent of annual generation. Sweden’s mandatory winter tyre regime, which legally requires winter tyres in winter conditions, creates a twice-yearly tyre swap that delivers predictable seasonal collection peaks and means that essentially every car tyre passes through a tyre retailer twice annually, providing two collection opportunities per year per tyre. Combined with strong dealer compliance obligations and SDAB’s well-funded processing network, Sweden achieves performance comparable to the Netherlands from a more geographically dispersed population.

Belgium. Belgium’s Recytyre system has achieved collection rates above 95 per cent in recent years, reflecting the country’s compact geography, well-designed producer responsibility scheme, and strong regulatory enforcement. Belgium’s position as a European crossroads adds cross-border tyre flows to its domestic generation; Recytyre manages these efficiently within the overall system.

Japan. Japan’s tyre recycling system, organised through the Japan Automobile Tire Manufacturers Association (JATMA) and the Japan Automobile Recycling Promotion Centre, achieves recycling and recovery rates exceeding 95 per cent of annual tyre generation. Japan’s performance is achieved through a different system structure from European EPR models, relying more on commercial incentives and industry self-organisation than mandatory producer responsibility; the outcome is comparable in collection rate terms. Japanese tyre recycling routes include TDF for cement kilns, crumb rubber for civil engineering and sports applications, and thermal recycling.

Which Countries Recycle the Most Tyres? Strong Performers: 80-95% Collection

France. Aliapur and TNU together achieve collection rates consistently above 85 to 90 per cent of French tyre generation. France’s two-organisation structure creates competition in collection and processing that the single-organisation Dutch and Belgian models do not have; both organisations publish annual performance data transparently. The French civil engineering bale market is well-developed; France’s rubber-modified asphalt programme creates strong domestic crumb rubber demand.

Germany. Germany’s more market-based EPR approach, without a single designated eco-organisation, makes precise collection rate measurement more complex than in systems with centralised data collection. BVSE and TRA Germany data suggest collection rates consistently above 90 per cent; the competitive German waste management market and strong KrWG enforcement create conditions for high collection performance even without a single stewardship organisation.

United Kingdom. TRA estimates suggest UK collection rates above 90 per cent of annual generation. The UK’s very well-developed tyre retail and automotive service infrastructure provides a dense collection point network; commercial collection logistics are well-established. The UK’s specific contribution to global tyre recycling is the PAS 108 standard, which has elevated civil engineering baling from an informal practice to a technically specified and quality-assured processing route used internationally.

Italy. Ecopneus has progressively improved Italian collection rates to above 95 per cent in recent years, a remarkable improvement from Italy’s historically lower performance before Ecopneus was established. The Ecopneus system’s development trajectory demonstrates that well-designed producer responsibility systems can achieve very high collection rates even in countries with historically lower environmental compliance cultures.

South Korea. South Korea’s tyre recycling performance, organised through the Korean Tire Industry Association and the government’s Extended Producer Responsibility system, achieves collection and recovery rates exceeding 90 per cent. South Korea’s strong industrial policy culture and effective regulatory enforcement create conditions for high EPR system performance.

Mid-Range Performers: 60-80% Collection

Australia, Spain, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, and most other established EU member states fall broadly in the 60 to 80 per cent collection range, with performance varying year by year and with different measurement methodologies making precise cross-country comparison difficult. The common characteristics of mid-range performers include functional producer responsibility systems that achieve substantial but not near-complete collection, commercially developed processing infrastructure, and active regulatory enforcement that is less comprehensive or consistent than in top-tier performers.

Australia. The Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) programme, discussed in detail in Gradeall’s dedicated Australian market articles, has improved Australian performance significantly from a low starting point; recent TSA data suggests collection rates approaching 70 to 80 per cent and improving. Australia’s geographic challenges, including a very dispersed population outside major cities and mining industry OTR tyre generation in remote locations, create collection logistics complexity that limits the achievable rate compared to compact European markets.

Spain. Signus and TNU together achieve Spanish collection rates that have improved progressively since 2004, with recent data suggesting above 85 per cent. Spain’s large agricultural and construction sectors generate OTR and agricultural tyre volumes that present specific collection challenges beyond the passenger car stream.

United States. US tyre recycling performance is the most difficult to characterise of any major economy, given the state-by-state regulatory structure. The USTMA reports that over 80 per cent of US scrap tyres reach some form of use (TDF, crumb rubber, retreading, civil engineering); however, the definition of use includes energy recovery in waste-to-energy and TDF applications that European measurement would not classify as recycling. California, Florida, and other states with comprehensive tyre stewardship programmes achieve higher recycling rates than states without state-level tyre management requirements.

Lower Performers: The Development Opportunity

A large portion of global tyre waste generation in developing and middle-income economies is managed through informal or illegal routes, including burning, dumping, and unregulated stockpiling. Countries across sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Central America, and parts of the Middle East and North Africa face common challenges that produce low formal recycling rates: regulatory frameworks that are not enforced or do not exist; commercial processing infrastructure that is economically unviable without EPR funding support; geographic and logistical barriers to collection in dispersed rural areas; and economic conditions where the cost of proper tyre disposal is high relative to disposal alternatives.

These markets represent both the most serious current tyre waste problem and the largest long-term growth opportunity for tyre processing equipment as regulatory frameworks develop and EPR systems are established. The trajectory of markets like South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, India, and Vietnam is toward progressive formalisation of tyre waste management; equipment investment in these markets follows regulatory development rather than preceding it, but the direction of travel is clear.

What Separates the Leaders from the Rest

The academic and practitioner literature on tyre stewardship performance consistently identifies the same factors as decisive in determining collection rates.

Mandatory participation without free-riding. Systems where all importers and manufacturers must participate in an approved scheme, with effective enforcement against non-participating market actors, achieve fundamentally higher collection rates than voluntary systems that allow free-riding. The difference between near-complete collection in the Netherlands and sub-80 percent performance in markets with voluntary or incompletely enforced systems reflects primarily this structural difference.

Funding levels that cover real collection costs. Under-funded stewardship schemes that set fees too low to cover the genuine cost of collecting tyres from dispersed rural generators, small dealers, and remote locations result in incomplete collection networks that leave specific collection segments unserved. The Dutch and Swedish systems’ near-complete collection reflects funding levels adequate to cover the full collection cost, including challenging rural and remote points.

Dealer acceptance obligations with enforcement. Tyre dealers who are required by law to accept used tyres from customers at the point of new tyre purchase, and who face real enforcement consequences for non-compliance, provide the most convenient collection points in the system. Consumer behaviour research consistently shows that convenient, free collection at the point of purchase achieves higher return rates than separate collection point systems.

“The global comparison confirms what Gradeall’s experience across over 100 countries has demonstrated directly,” says Conor Murphy, Director of Gradeall International. “Well-designed producer responsibility systems with adequate funding, mandatory participation, and genuine enforcement achieve near-complete collection. Our equipment serves processors in markets at every point on this performance spectrum, from the Netherlands’ near-perfect system to developing markets building their first processing infrastructure. The direction of travel globally is toward more structured EPR systems, which means more viable processing operations in markets that are currently under-served.”

Contact Gradeall International for tyre processing equipment for operations across all global markets.

FAQs

← Back to news