Australia called to match EU tyre use standards

MONASH University professor Lian Zhang says Australia needs to adopt international tyre standards such as those recently introduced in Europe to limit the number of tyres unnecessarily ending up in landfill each year.

The new European Union regulation mandates that tyres must offer the same level of wet weather performance when worn to the minimum 1.6mm tread depth as when they are new.

The move is expected to save European motorists as much as $A11.6 billion in premature tyre purchases.

Further, and as recently announced by Monash University, the technique of upcycling old plastics and tyres to create an alternate diesel fuel is one Professor Zhang believes could help Australian motorists match the EU’s move.

“Certainly, the new regulation from the EU is a good approach to reducing the amount of waste scrap tyres, which aligns with the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle) philosophy of waste management,” he said.

“What could be even more impactful are the Euro 7 regulations, which impose an extension of tailpipe emissions laws, greatly mitigating the environmental impacts of tyres throughout their entire life cycle.

“Australia clearly needs to harmonise its regulations to align with the EU, maintaining high sustainability for the tyre industry and its minimal environmental impact.

“Nevertheless, as all tyres eventually reach the end of their life, and waste tyre export was banned in December 2021 in Australia, appropriate recycling and upcycling of the waste scrap into value-added products remains critical for Australia.

“Local solutions must be found to reuse and valorise them,” he concluded.

The news comes a week after Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) CEO Lina Goodman said Australia offers more rubber product recycling opportunities than ever before.

Commenting on the recent changes to EU legislation at the TSA’s 10-year anniversary, Ms Goodman said, “we’re seeing more innovation than ever before, and it’s all down to the stamina, staying power and will to do the right thing of those who have invested dollars, time and energy into building Australia’s circular tyre economy.”

There are now 16 tyre and auto brands investing in circular tyre economy outcomes for Australia, through their support of TSA.

Those contributors have made it possible for TSA to inject over $10 million directly into developing markets for tyre-derived materials and research into solutions for end-of-life tyres. These projects are critical to achieving the growth of the tyre recycling sector and across the entire value chain.

“Taken together with market development funding, TSA spends around 40 per cent of its budget each year directly on its efforts to boost the recycling sector, by stimulating and expanding markets for tyre-derived material and facilitating collaboration between industry entities and with government,” added Ms Goodman.

“We are not going to take our foot off the pedal in seeking regulation that requires every tyre importer and auto brand to follow the strong leadership of the existing 16 tyre and auto brands which voluntarily contribute for the products they import and sell – and putting a stop to free riders in the Australian market.

“The need for an all-in scheme is amplified as we move closer to the global and domestic environment target dates Australia has signed up to, including the pathway to net zero by 2050.

“Equally amplified are the opportunities to meet those targets. With only 57 per cent of tyre importers and only three per cent of auto brands contributing, Australia’s circular tyre economy has grown from just a few pioneers driving change in 2014 to more mainstream innovation in 2024.

“Just imagine what we could do with 100 per cent contributing to an all-in scheme,” she proffered.