The tyre recycling industry in India is at a critical juncture, driven by policy changes, increasing demands for environmental stewardship, and the need for a scalable industrial solution. At the 13th edition of the India Material Recycling Conference (IMRC) 2026, organized in Jaipur, key stakeholders of the industry gathered for a dedicated session on “Driving Circularity in the Tyre Ecosystem,” where the impact of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regime in India on the handling of End-of-Life Tyres (ELTs) was explored.
Setting the context for the discussion, the session moderator highlighted the systemic nature of the challenge, noting:
“For any business to thrive, normally an ecosystem has policy, raw material availability, technology to process them, and buyers of finished products. Normally what happens is that there is a gap between these four players.”
This gap, speakers emphasized, is particularly visible in the tyre recycling value chain, where regulatory ambition has advanced faster than market confidence and raw material security. The session highlighted that the reality of tyre circularity is no longer a conceptual vision but a dynamic, ever-unfolding industrial reality.
Session Participants and Institutional Representation
The discussion included a wide cross-section of stakeholders from the policy, industry, and recycling community in India’s tyre sector. The policy and regulatory views were presented by Dr. Vinod Kumar Singh, Scientist and Director, Hazardous Substances Management Division, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC); Ms. Deepti Khandelwal, Additional Director, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB); and Mr. Rajesh Kumar, Deputy Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce. Industry views were presented by Mr. Sanjay Chatterjee, Assistant Director General, All India Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA), who represented the industry’s perspective as tyre manufacturers and users of recycled materials. The recycling industry was represented by Mr. Harsh Gandhi, Managing Director, GRP Limited, and Mr. Gaurav Sikri, Managing Director, TINA Rubber and Infrastructure Limited, who both presented the challenges faced by the recycling industry. The panel represented the entire value chain, from regulation and manufacturing to recycling and market use, emphasizing the need for a collective approach to promote circular economy in the tyre sector.
India’s Tyre Industry: Scale and Strategic Importance
Today, India is one of the few nations in the world that has achieved a state of near-complete self-sufficiency in the production of tyres, ranging from two-wheelers and passenger cars to commercial and OTR tyres. This was emphasized by the representatives of the tyre industry at the IMRC 2026 conference, where it was pointed out that the Indian tyre industry has an annual turnover of about ₹1 lakh crore (approximately USD 11 billion), with exports to over 180 foreign markets, including highly regulated countries such as the United States, Europe, and Japan. The total turnover of the five largest tyre manufacturers, represented by the All India Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA), is itself close to ₹1 lakh crore.
From a production perspective, India has excess capacity in the tyre manufacturing sector, which means that infrastructure is not a constraint for growth. However, this is in contrast to the challenges in the recycling sector. Despite the large domestic consumption of tyres, India is a material deficit country when it comes to end-of-life tyres, especially those containing higher amounts of natural rubber, which are required for the production of higher-value recycled products such as reclaimed rubber and recovered carbon black (rCB). This has led to the continued importation of end-of-life tyres by recyclers to keep their plants operational.
Globally, it is estimated that one billion end-of-life tyres are discarded every year, but the supply of recyclable tyres is limited due to export bans and domestic retention practices in other countries. It was highlighted that although India has developed a strong recycling sector, this sector will have to be supported by a stable supply of raw materials.
EPR on Tyres: Framework, Progress, and Gaps
India’s tyre EPR regime, formally notified in July 2022, introduced a structured obligation on producers to ensure environmentally sound recycling of tyres placed on the market. Under the framework:
- Higher EPR weightage is assigned to:
- Reclaimed rubber
- Recovered carbon black (rCB)
- Lower weightage is assigned to pyrolysis outputs, reflecting environmental concerns and historical non-compliance in batch pyrolysis operations.
Officials from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) confirmed that:
- Tyre recyclers importing waste tyres are also classified as producers under EPR
- Such entities are required to meet 100% EPR obligations on imported volumes in the subsequent financial year
- As per CPCB data, approximately 295 producers are registered on the EPR portal, compared with around 571 registered recyclers, indicating ongoing gaps in registration and disclosure
While customs authorities now require EPR registration certificates for tyre imports, regulators acknowledged that data matching and disclosure consistency remain areas for improvement.
Recovered Carbon Black (rCB): Technical Promise, Market Constraints
Recovered Carbon Black emerged as a central theme during the session. From a circularity perspective, rCB represents a direct opportunity to substitute virgin carbon black, reduce import dependency, and lower the overall carbon footprint of rubber manufacturing.
However, tyre manufacturers emphasized that:
- Globally, circular material content in tyres remains below 3%
- In India, usage varies by application:
- High single-digit percentages in slow-moving vehicles such as tractors and two-wheelers
- Low single-digit percentages in high-speed vehicles such as cars, trucks, and buses
The primary constraint is safety and performance. Tyres are critical safety components, and manufacturers must comply with increasingly stringent standards, including:
- AIS-142 performance norms
- Upcoming BS-VII emission norms
- CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency) regulations
To address these challenges, the All India Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA) has initiated a structured industry–academia collaboration with leading institutes such as the IITs, focusing on:
- Improving crumb rubber bonding and structure
- Increasing allowable dosage of reclaimed rubber
- Enhancing substitution potential of rCB, including blending recycled and virgin grades (e.g., N550 and N650)
An upcoming MoU with GRP Limited for reclaimed rubber development was cited as a concrete step toward scaling circular material adoption.
Recycler Challenges: Material Security and Capital Confidence
From the recycler’s perspective, speakers from GRP Limited and TINA Rubber & Infrastructure Limited highlighted four structural challenges limiting scale-up:
- Material security
Despite domestic tyre generation, India remains short of suitable ELTs, particularly those rich in natural rubber. - Policy consistency
Differences in interpretation and enforcement of environmental norms across states create uncertainty for long-term investment. - Access to capital
While capital availability is not inherently constrained, investor confidence depends heavily on regulatory stability and customer validation. - Customer acceptance
Widespread adoption of recycled outputs depends on trust in quality, consistency, and certification.
Gaurav Sikri, Managing Director, TINA Rubber & Infrastructure Limited, emphasized the importance of this shift in perspective.
“We should not call them waste tyres. These are end-of-life tyres which need to be put back into productive use. They are not waste.”
Several speakers stressed the need to reframe “waste tyres” as “end-of-life tyres”, emphasizing their resource value. International trends suggest that exporting countries are increasingly restricting ELT exports, as seen in markets such as Oman, where domestic recycling mandates have already been introduced.
Pyrolysis, CRMB, and Broader Circular Applications
The role of pyrolysis generated extensive discussion. Regulators clarified that:
- Import of tyres solely for pyrolysis remains restricted under current rules
- Continuous pyrolysis plants, compliant with CPCB Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), may be considered in the future
- Physical inspections and audits are mandatory before granting import permissions
Speakers emphasized that circularity should not be narrowly defined as tyre-to-tyre recycling. Alternative applications discussed included:
- Crumb Rubber Modified Bitumen (CRMB) for road construction, reducing dependence on imported bitumen
- Use of rubber in plastic composites
- Emerging applications in construction and earthquake-resistant concrete
- Broader industrial use of rCB beyond tyre manufacturing
Standardisation and Global Competitiveness
Standardisation was identified as a critical enabler for market confidence. While BIS standards already exist for reclaimed rubber and crumb rubber, standards for rCB are currently under development.
Panelists referenced recent NITI Aayog recommendations calling for:
- BIS certification of recycled outputs
- Harmonisation of process standards
- Stronger inspection and audit mechanisms
Without certification and quality benchmarks, speakers warned, India’s recycled materials will struggle to access global markets or achieve price parity with virgin materials.
The Next Decade: Scale, Formalisation, and Global Leadership
Looking ahead, the panel expressed strong confidence that India could emerge as a global hub for tyre recycling over the next decade. Expectations included:
- Recycling companies operating at 100,000–150,000 tonnes per annum or more
- Transition of the sector from SME-dominated to large, formalised industrial players
- Use of EPR revenues to fund R&D and technology upgrades
- Alignment with national priorities such as Waste to Wealth, Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat, and Net Zero
Several panelists emphasized that India has developed a comparatively mature tyre recovery ecosystem, particularly when contrasted with jurisdictions where landfilling and stockpiling of end-of-life tyres remains common.
Conclusion
The IMRC 2026 session clearly indicated that the tyre recycling industry in India is on the cusp of a structural maturity phase. Although the refinement of regulations, acceptance by the market, and standardization of technology are still in the development stage, the alignment of regulatory intent, industry cooperation, and investment readiness is a great starting point for sustained growth.
If properly implemented, the tyre EPR regime in India has the potential to not only enhance environmental performance but also make the country a leader in the global recovery of circular materials.
(IRuniverse Rohini Basunde)
