What actually happens to tyres after they're collected for "recycling"?
Short answer: Collected tyres are generally taken to a processing facility where they're shredded into smaller pieces, with steel belting and wire magnetically separated out; the remaining rubber is then processed further into rubber crumb (used in playgrounds, sports surfaces, and asphalt additives) or used as tyre-derived fuel in industries like cement manufacturing that can use it as an alternative energy source, rather than being landfilled or simply stockpiled.
Recovering scrap steel from tyre processing? List it once and let verified buyers make real offers.
List Free →The typical processing path
Shredding is usually the first step, breaking tyres down into manageable pieces and allowing steel components to be separated out magnetically from the rubber material.
Where the rubber goes
Processed rubber crumb has genuine end markets — playground and sports surfacing, asphalt additives, and other civil engineering applications all use recycled tyre rubber, while tyre-derived fuel is used by some industrial facilities as an alternative energy source.
Why asking matters
Not every operator claiming to “recycle” tyres actually processes them this way — some illegally stockpile or dump collected tyres instead, which is why choosing a licensed, transparent recycler is worth the effort rather than picking the cheapest advertised price.
How ScrapTrade Fits In
The steel recovered in that shredding process is real scrap metal with real value — if you’re on the recycling side of this process, ScrapTrade is where that recovered steel gets sold to verified buyers.
If your tyre recycling or disposal process recovers scrap steel, ScrapTrade connects that material with verified buyers through escrow-protected payments and transparent weighing.
List or Find Scrap on ScrapTrade →