German rubber association reports 87kt of missing ELTs

Frankfurt/Main, Germany – Large volumes of end-of-life tires (ELTs) are missing in Germany with industry officials suspecting the illegal export of the waste products to countries outside of the EU.

The trend towards recycling used tires "continues unabated" but used tire disposal companies and recyclers have been recording dwindling volumes, German rubber industry association the WDK reported 8 Oct.

The industry body has “identified a significant volume of tires amounting to 87,000 tonnes, the whereabouts of which are unclear,” explained WDK technical managing director Stephen Rau.

“This volume cannot be reconciled with either the official statistics or the quantities reported by the disposal companies,” according to Rau.

With the real figure suspected to be closer to 100,000 tonnes, Rau said the missing tires are likely to have been exported to non-EU countries to be incinerated or recycled using not environmentally-friendly methods.

Elsewhere, the WDK official said the 2023 data showed that incineration of tires for cement production, had significantly decreased over the past 25 years, now accounting for 25% of total recovered tires.

Rau went on to stress the importance of ‘reliable market statistics’, adding that WDK has been calling on legislators to record the volume and transparency of ELT streams.

“Used tires should only be collected by certified disposal companies and pre-sorted according to their intended use,” emphasised Rau.

This, he added, will ensure that the carcasses can be reused for repair or retreading or can be used as a source of raw materials.