AUSTRALIA’S poor support rate in a tyre circular economy will need mandatory participation by all players to ensure recycling and disposal actions are successful, according to a new report.

A report on the tyre supply chain said it must be mandatory for participants to join a product stewardship scheme. 

The report ‘Tyre Supply Chain Analysis: Opportunities to grow Australia’s circular economy for tyres’ identifies critical constraints across the entire tyre supply chain that are preventing Australia from meeting its circular economy targets. 

The report shows that companies responsible for 47 per cent of replacement tyre imports and 99 per cent of vehicle-fitted tyre imports do not contribute to Australia’s voluntary stewardship scheme levy.“This has created an uneven playing field where responsible importers are penalised while free-riders benefit from scheme programs at no cost,” said Lina Goodman, CEO of Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA).  

She said that Australia generates about 537,000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres annually. Of that, only 26 per cent is reused (9 per cent) or recycled (17 per cent), while 40 per cent is exported for energy recovery (in cement kilns, for example).

The remainder is either landfilled, buried on-site at mines, stockpiled or illegally dumped.

The TSA analysis identified 33 key issues constraining greater circularity, including six rated as ‘Very High’ constraints that represent critical systemic failures. 

The six most critical constraints identified are: 

1. Free-riding importers — 47 per cent of replacement and 99 per cent of fitted tyre imports avoid the TSA levy, gaining an unfair financial advantage  
2. Rogue collectors — unaccredited operators undercut legitimate collections, leading to  illegal dumping with significant community, environmental, and financial impacts
3. Onsite burial at mines — 100,000 tonnes of mining tyres are permitted to be buried  annually despite available recovery options 
4. On-farm dumping and burning — prohibitive collection costs drive routine dumping and  burning of large off-the-road tyres on farms 
5. Low recycling rates — Australia recycles just 17 per cent of used tyres, with 40 per cent going to energy recovery and 30 per cent to burial and landfill  
6. Underdeveloped circular end markets — growth is held back by insufficient procurement of tyre-derived material, over-reliance on energy recovery, and the continued permitting of OTR tyre burial

The report examined current and potential opportunities to resolve these constraints but identifies a mandatory participation scheme – at either national or jurisdictional level – as the most effective solution. 

Ms Goodman said: “While joint TSA–state/territory programs could be pursued, and amendments to the existing voluntary schemes are recommended, the report is clear that optimising the current voluntary approach will only drive limited growth”.

“A regulated scheme fit-for-purpose in the Australian context – designed across the entire supply chain, supported by incentives, and staged where necessary to reflect market readiness – is essential if tyres are to meaningfully contribute to Australia’s circular economy targets.” Ms Goodman said that existing legislation, including the ‘recycling and waste reduction act 2020’ and the ‘NSW product lifecycle responsibility act 2025’, could support such a scheme, yet this has not occurred despite tyres being on the minister’s priority list since 2022–23. 

“The report’s findings are unequivocal. Australia’s tyre supply chain is constrained from achieving high levels of material circularity due to fragmented policies, laws, implementation and enforcement across  all levels of government,” Ms Goodman said.

“Without mandatory participation, the current scheme simply cannot deliver the circularity rates called for by the government’s framework.” 

The findings align with the federal government’s 2024 circular economy framework commitment to double Australia’s circularity rate, which includes reducing material footprint by 10 per cent, lifting materials productivity by 30 per cent, and safely recovering 80 per cent of resources. 

Lina Goodman, CEO of Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA)

The report concludes that tyres represent a product group that can contribute significantly more to measurable increases in material circularity.

The report’s conclusions are consistent with the recent Western Australian government’s national end-of-life tyres options report, which also found that a well-designed regulated product stewardship scheme tailored to the Australian context is required to address free-riding, inadequate collections, underdeveloped processing markets, ongoing disposal of OTR tyres and ultimately improving tyre circularity outcomes.  

“The time for researching and reporting is over,” Ms Goodman commented.

“Industry has already invested millions in tyre recycling infrastructure in anticipation of the stronger regulation that the government has long signalled is coming. 

“What we need now is commitment from the federal and state governments to implement mandatory participation in a product stewardship scheme for tyres. 

“Only the government can take the next necessary step: The time for action has come.”