Data from Tyres Europe show that in 2024 Europe generated about 3.9 million tonnes of scrap tires, with a collection and treatment rate of about 97%; Germany generates about 500,000–600,000 tonnes of scrap tires each year. Scrap tire treatment in Germany has also undergone years of development, from landfilling and incineration to the now widely used pyrolysis technology, etc. Niutech, a globally renowned manufacturer of scrap tire pyrolysis equipment, has achieved technological application in Germany and has been widely promoted and applied across Europe.

Germany regards scrap tires as a special category of waste and has established a model of “legislation first + free market competition + mature recycling industry chain.” At the EU level, disposal models are divided into three categories—extended producer responsibility (EPR), liberal system, and government tax system. Germany is a typical liberal market mechanism model, that is, legislation sets strict requirements for tire manufacturers, consumers, and recycling enterprises, and all participants complete statutory targets through market bidding and cooperation.

I. Relevant legal provisions on scrap tire recycling in Germany

Germany’s Circular Economy and Waste Act (KrWG, enacted in 1994) clarifies the responsibilities of manufacturers, sellers, and consumers, requires recycling to be considered from the design stage, and promotes circulation within the material system; its waste management principles run through the entire life cycle of tires from design and production to disposal; the EU End-of-Life Vehicles Directive indirectly affects tire disposal; etc.

Germany has legislated to prohibit landfilling of scrap tires; in the classification system, scrap tires are special waste and must not be discarded arbitrarily. They must be sent to designated locations and treated for a fee. Ordinary waste stations do not accept them; generally, auto repair shops act as agents, with a service fee of about EUR 1 to several euros; arbitrary dumping will result in warnings and fines.

It clarifies the joint responsibilities of tire manufacturers, sellers, and consumers; after the regulations took effect, Germany’s scrap tire recycling rate rose from less than 50% to a stable level of above 90%. Germany has also established a product life cycle assessment (LCA) mechanism to scientifically assess environmental impacts at each stage and provide a basis for decisions by management authorities.

The 2024 draft of Germany’s National Circular Economy Strategy (NKWS) also requires that sustainable scrap tire recycling be fully incorporated.

II. Main treatment technologies and methods for scrap tires in Germany

1. Mechanical recycling (shredding into rubber powder). The German industry advocates that when tires cannot be repaired, retreaded, or reused, climate-friendly recycling methods should be prioritized, with mechanical recycling as the first choice and chemical recycling as a supplement when necessary. The products are used in asphalt roads, stadium running tracks, artificial turf, and the production of tires, conveyor belts, etc., as a supplement to and substitute for natural rubber.
2. Energy recovery (TDF) . Cut tire chips (used for industrial boilers) and even whole tires without cutting can be used as alternative fuel for cement kilns. Under the free market mechanism, energy recovery, due to its large processing capacity, ability to quickly remove long-accumulated scrap tires, and relatively low cost, was once the most cost-effective method. However, due to environmental pollution problems, it has now been gradually phased out.
3. Rubber pyrolysis (chemical recycling). Pyrolysis is an advanced chemical recycling technology that thermochemically decomposes tire rubber under oxygen-free/low-oxygen conditions at a certain temperature. It produces tire pyrolysis oil (TPO), recovered carbon black (rCB), mixed combustible gas, etc. The gas produced by pyrolysis can be used to drive the pyrolysis system itself, making operation almost energy self-sufficient. rCB is used in tire manufacturing to replace fossil-based industrial carbon black, and is also used in rubber flooring, gaskets, conveyor belts, coatings, sports equipment, textiles, etc. In tire recycling to produce oil, pyrolysis oil is the main product; as a substitute for fossil carbon, it is fed into conventional C4 cracking units under the mass balance principle to produce monomers.

Tire recycling pyrolysis has successfully achieved the closed loop of “tire–scrap tire–carbon black–new tire” and is considered the most promising treatment method. Scrap tire pyrolysis treatment is also developing rapidly in Germany. Niutech’s technology and equipment landed in Germany in 2009 and have met the strict EU and German requirements in terms of environmental protection and technical performance; this set of technology and equipment has achieved industrial application in multiple EU countries, promoting the development of Europe’s scrap tire chemical recycling industry.