Industry Snapshot

In the U.S., scrap tires are generated by consumers and commercial entities. There are three general categories of scrap tires: passenger and light truck tires (85% of the scrap tires generated); medium and heavy truck tires (14% of the scrap tires generated) and off-road tires (representing 1% of the scrap tires generated). There is an direct inverse relationship between the percentages of scrap tires generated by sector and their weight. 

Tire shreds prepared for lightweight fill.

Industry Facts

There are over 10,000 retail outlets that sell tires and over 300 scrap tire processing facilities across the country.

More information can be obtained at www.rma.org or for specific information about the tires themselves, go to the web sites of the specific tire manufacturers.

Scrap tire generation is a function of population: there is one scrap tire generated per person per year.

1. California generates 40 million scrap tires per year.
2. Texas generates 25 million scrap tires per year
3. New York generates 20 million scrap tires per year.

According to our annual industry survey:

• There are potentially 4,950,000,000 tons of reusable byproduct materials generated annually: 87 percent of this material is reused/recycled annually.

Did you know?

Scrap tires used in civil engineering (as tire-derived aggregate) can often be the least cost alternative for construction material, especially when light-weight fill material is needed. Tire-derived aggregate is a proven construction material, with over 16 years in use in more than 200 applications across the United States.