Eighty-four Percent of Scrapped Tires Are Recycled

There were 263 million tires scrapped in 2009 (latest available data) which amounts to more than 4.7 million tons of waste. Fortunately, 84% of that waste was recycled. Most of the recycled tires were used to make fuel for industries such as pulp and paper mills, cement kilns, and electric utilities. Ground rubber, which is used for sports surfacing, asphalt, playgrounds, and other molded products, is the second largest use of recycled tires.