Australia will not significantly improve its tyre recycling rate without moving to a mandatory product stewardship scheme, according to a new supply chain analysis commissioned by Tyre Stewardship Australia.
The report finds that only 26 per cent of Australia’s end-of-life tyres are currently reused or recycled, despite more than half a million tonnes being generated each year.
Recycling rate lags as volumes grow
Australia produces about 537,000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres annually. Of that total, 9 per cent are reused and 17 per cent recycled.
Around 40 per cent are exported for energy recovery, while the remainder are landfilled, buried on-site at mines, stockpiled or illegally dumped.
The Tyre Supply Chain Analysis identifies 33 constraints across the supply chain limiting circularity and highlights structural weaknesses in the current voluntary scheme.
Free-riders and weak enforcement flagged
The report states that companies responsible for 47 per cent of replacement tyre imports and 99 per cent of vehicle-fitted tyre imports do not contribute to the voluntary stewardship levy.
It describes this as creating an uneven playing field and identifies 6 “very high” constraints regarded as systemic failures:
- Importers avoiding the levy
- Rogue collectors linked to illegal dumping
- Permitted on-site burial of about 100,000 tonnes of mining tyres annually
- On-farm dumping and burning of off-the-road tyres
- Low domestic recycling rates
- Underdeveloped end markets for tyre-derived materials
- Tyre Stewardship Australia chief executive Lina Goodman said the findings show the limits of a voluntary approach.
“While joint TSA–State/Territory programs could be pursued, and amendments to the existing voluntary scheme are recommended, the report is clear that optimising the current voluntary approach will only drive limited growth,” Goodman says.
“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.”
Legislative pathway available
The report notes existing legislation, including the Recycling and Waste Reduction Act 2020 and the NSW Product Lifecycle Responsibility Act 2025, could provide a pathway to a regulated national scheme. Tyres have been listed on the Federal Minister’s Priority List since 2022–23.
Goodman said fragmented policy settings and inconsistent enforcement across jurisdictions were constraining progress.
“Without mandatory participation, the current Scheme simply cannot deliver the circularity rates called for by the Government’s framework,” she says.
The findings align with the Federal Government’s 2024 Circular Economy Framework, which aims to double Australia’s circularity rate, reduce material footprint by 10 per cent, lift materials productivity by 30 per cent, and safely recover 80 per cent of resources.
According to the TSA, tyres represent a product category capable of contributing significantly more to material circularity if regulatory settings are strengthened.
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