Australia’s tyre industry stands at a critical juncture.

A new report from Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA), Material Flow Analysis – Are We There Yet?, reveals a sobering reality: that while Australia reports strong recovery rates for end-of-life tyres, most of this so-called “recovery” lacks true circular outcomes. The illusion of progress hides a deeper failure to extract lasting value from the 537,000 tonnes of used tyres generated each year.

At CTS Tyre Recycling and Throughcycle Rubber , we believe it’s time to move beyond the numbers and focus on real impact, by keeping materials in use, in Australia, and in circulation.

The Illusion of High Recovery

The headline figure (66% recovery) sounds impressive. But a closer look shows only 26% of end-of-life tyres were genuinely reused or recycled into new products. A staggering 40% were shredded and shipped overseas to be incinerated for energy, a process that destroys the material and delivers no long-term re-use of a valuable material. This practice is not circularity. It’s combustion disguised as sustainability.

A Tale of Two Sectors: Passenger vs Mining

The TSA report identifies a stark divide:

• Passenger, truck, and bus tyres reached an 87% recovery rate, but more than half were exported for burning.

• Off-the-road (OTR) tyres, used heavily in mining and agriculture, had a recovery rate of just 13%, with more than 100,000 tonnes buried onsite in 2023–24 alone.

These mining tyres can weigh up to 5 tonnes each and are often worth over $50,000. They still have value in a circular economy through recycling and remanufacturing. Yet current regulations allow the mining industry to dispose of them onsite, bypassing the environmental obligations required of every other sector.

CTS Tyre Recycling – Processing Waste into Value

At CTS Tyre Recycling , we address this challenge at the source. Our state-of-the-art WA facility is capable of processing tyres of all sizes, including the massive OTR tyres, into high-quality crumb rubber and other raw materials.

We prioritise material circularity, ensuring tyres are not simply diverted from landfill, but transformed into valuable inputs that can displace virgin materials across industries like construction, infrastructure, and manufacturing.

Throughcycle Rubber – Creating Circular Products

Throughcycle Rubber is where recovery becomes reinvention.

Using crumb rubber and rubber powder supplied by CTS Tyre Recycling , Throughcycle Rubber manufactures a growing range of high-performance, circular products, including:

• Crumb Rubber: for asphalt, road surfacing, playgrounds, athletic tracks, and moulded goods.
• Rubber Powder: for use in tile adhesives, commercial flooring, insulation, rubber compounds, and even new tyre formulations.

This partnership ensures that what begins as waste re-enters the economy as sustainable, functional, and Australian-made materials.

A Clear Path Forward: Circular Value, Not Just Recovery

The TSA report makes it clear: voluntary measures have failed. The recovery rate is not the problem, it’s what we’re doing with the recovered material that matters.

At CTS Tyre Recycling and Throughcycle Rubber , we don’t believe in exporting opportunities. We believe in investing in local processing, local manufacturing, and a truly circular system that creates jobs, products, and environmental gains, right here in Australia.

Join the Movement: Partner with Us

We’re calling on:

• Mining, transport, logistics, and construction companies ready to rethink waste.
• Governments ready to support local procurement and enforce proper regulation.
• Manufacturers and developers ready to source recycled, high-performance materials.

Let’s stop measuring success by how much waste we move — and start measuring it by how much value we create.

Let’s Build a Circular Future, Together

Discover how CTS Tyre Recycling and Throughcycle Rubber can help you:

www.ctstyrerecycling.com.au

www.throughcyclerubber.com.au

Read the Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) Material Flow Analysis Report 2023-24 here