Environment | Value natural resources
Recycling and reusing used tires

The Bridgestone Group is working to improve product circularity.^*1 That involves effectively utilizing or disposing of used tires^*2 collected at shops/stores, while complying with the laws and regulations of each country and region. In 2023, 99% of the Group's nearly 3,500 equity shops/stores around the world have a contract for processing companies with beneficial next use stipulation. The Group is working to create new value through tire recycling, including the effective use of collected used tires in its recycling business.

The Group specifically promotes the following activities globally.

• Effective beneficial next use of used tires collected at shops/stores (material recycling, energy recovery)
• Participation in regional and global initiatives
• Collection of discarded tires to clean up the environment in collaboration with NGOs

Used passenger car tires and truck and bus radial tires (TBRs) are beneficially recycled and recovered. Beneficial uses include use as construction materials, landscaping mulch, floor mats and crafts.

End-of-life tires^*3 global recovery rates^*4

According to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s (WBCSD) Tire Industry Project (TIP), the world is on course to generate approximately one billion used tires each year. The Group recognizes that reducing the environmental impact of used tires is an important common issue with the entire tire industry.

The Group has been involved in WBCSD’s TIP since its launch in 2006. As one of the world’s leading tire and rubber companies, the Group is working together with other companies in the industry to create a sustainable world. TIP aims to develop an effective management system for end-of-life tires by encouraging related industries and governments to develop systems for properly processing end-of-life tires and reducing their environmental impact. TIP published a manual and examples of best practices based on a global survey that includes 45 countries covering 84% of the world’s vehicles.

The Japan Automobile Tire Manufacturers Association (JATMA) and many others in the tire industry are working to reduce the number of used tires, to recycle such tires with the aim of creating a circular economy. Specific measures focus on monitoring the state of tire recycling and preventing illegal collection and dumping of used tires. According to a JATMA survey, the beneficial next use rate of used tires in Japan was 99.2% in 2023. Together with JATMA, Bridgestone is committed to continuing to improve this rate and reduce the environmental impact of used tires in Japan.

As a core member of the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA), Bridgestone Americas is working with USTMA toward a shared vision for the U.S. tire manufacturing industry of achieving safe and sustainable mobility for the future.

That quest involves promoting environmentally and economically sound options for repurposing tires once their on-vehicle use is over in various ways, such as use as construction material to fuel, thereby maximizing the value of used tires and alleviating the environmental impact of tires through responsible end-of-life management.
Since its launch in 1990, USTMA has worked together with various state agencies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the tire industry to reduce scrap tire stockpiles and implement regulations that foster sustainable used tire markets. The association also offers technical information on end-of-life tire management and hosts used tire conferences for regulators, recyclers, industry and other stakeholders.

USTMA members operate 57 facilities in 17 states, are responsible for more than 291,000 jobs and have an annual economic footprint of US$170.6 billion.

USTMA | End-of-Life Tire Management

As a core member of the European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturing Association (ETRMA), Bridgestone EU, Middle East and Africa (BSEMEA) is working together with other ETRMA members to support the Roadmap New Circular Economy Action Plan newly issued by the European Parliament. The European tire industry believes in a future inclusive economy based on the efficient use of resources, ensuring full recovery in the waste-stream (providing the highest possible value with minimal material functionality loss), and with no uncontrolled emissions, driven by an innovative and sustainable market economy.

To maximize its contribution to a circular economy, ETRMA and the tire industry are directly involved in managing end-of-life tires (ELT) in European countries that have adopted the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system.

EPR refers to the producer’s full or partial operational and/or financial responsibility for a product, extending to the post-consumer phase of a product’s lifecycle. In other words, under this system, the original manufacturer should ensure the waste from the products it has created is disposed of responsibly, in an environmentally sound manner. This has led to the setting up of not-for-profit companies financed by tire producers aiming to manage the collection and recovery of ELTs through the most economical solutions. A reporting obligation toward national regulatory authorities provides a good example of clear and reliable traceability.

In 2023, Bridgestone Corporation has commenced a process to test pyrolysis technology, which involves chemical recycling, in converting used tires for the production of new tires derived from tire oil and recovered carbon black. It has been conducted using the test units installed at Bridgestone Innovation Park in Kodaira City, Tokyo. This initiative is aimed at verifying chemical recycling technologies that enable precise pyrolysis of used tires. The scope of this initiative is indicated by the red frame in the chemical recycling diagram below.

This project is one of two R&D projects that are part of an initiative for developing chemical product manufacturing technologies utilizing used tires promoted by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) of Japan and has been adopted as part of NEDO's Green Innovation Fund. Bridgestone is currently advancing verification tests as part of a joint project with ENEOS Corporation. This test is aimed at verifying the chemical recycling technologies for achieving high-yield production of chemical products, such as butadiene, a raw material used in synthetic rubber. The companies are moving forward with research and development on the technologies for refining tire derived oil obtained through precise pyrolysis. By combining ENEOS’s crude oil refining technologies and foundational basic chemical product manufacturing technologies with the precision pyrolysis technologies of Bridgestone, which possesses advanced rubber and polymer material design technologies, the companies aim to create butadiene and other chemical products. By 2030, this project will work to advance large-scale verification tests of pyrolysis technology with the aim of launching the mass production line. During the 24 Mid-term Business Plan (2024-2026), towards its commercialization the companies will advance technology verification and also start studying the construction of a pilot demonstration plant.

In 2020, P.T. Bridgestone Tire Indonesia (Bridgestone Indonesia) entered into a two-year partnership with Soles4Souls Asia, a global nonprofit organization, on a project to create new shoes out of recycled tires.

Working with partner shoe brands to manufacture shoes in their factories, the goal was to turn 40,000 tires into about 400,000 pairs of shoes by the end of 2022, diverting end-of-life tires from landfills and putting them to good use. These shoes were distributed to people in need around the world and/or sold through various outlets with a portion set for donations.

The partnership has given these Bridgestone tires a new lease on life as soles for shoes, helping the drive toward a circular economy that eliminates waste through the continual use of resources. Additionally, Bridgestone Indonesia has pledged US$60,000 to assist Soles4Souls Asia in expanding the project and its global relief efforts.

For more information, see news release.

This project addresses the issue of preventing pollution through two key activities and reinforces alliances with different stakeholders that are working in collaboration with the Costa Rica Plant. The first activity, called “Llantaton,” is an annual campaign that has been promoted by Bridgestone in Costa Rica since 2017. In June 2023, the campaign was held for a week in 18 locations around the country, coinciding with the celebration of Global Environmental Day. This public-private alliance involves stakeholders including several local governments, vendors, clients, the Minister of Health, social media and the press. The second activity, called “Compliance Unit,” is a program that Bridgestone Costa Rica has been continuously implementing since 2015. Under the program, Bridgestone Costa Rica collects a percentage of the total value of tires sold in the country each month to contribute to the prevention of pollution. Central to the program is a vendor who collects all the tires that are replaced in different Bridgestone sales agencies. Clients are offered the opportunity to dispose of their old tires when buying new ones. Every Bridgestone sales point stores the tires and notifies the vendor to pick them up and drive them to a proper treatment facility.

Bridgestone Tire Solution Japan (BTSJ) operates the Bridgestone Tire Recycle Center Osaka. The center combines the ability to manufacture retreaded tires and repurpose used tires in a single location. The center also facilitates the collection, reuse and repurposing of tires from Osaka Prefecture and parts of Kyoto, Hyogo, Shiga and Wakayama Prefectures. The Group is maintaining its commitment to achieving sustainable used tire management.

Bridgestone Costa Rica’s B-Happy Eco-Parks program uses used tires to create playgrounds in parks and education centers. So far, over 39 playgrounds have been created in Central America and the Caribbean since 2012.