USTMA & TIA Promote Scrap Tire Tech for Infrastructure

May 12, 2022

The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) and 15 other stakeholders — including the Tire Industry Association (TIA) are asking the Biden Administration to use scrap tire technologies in national infrastructure projects.

“Our nation is making once-in-a-generation investments in our country’s infrastructure and we want to be active participants in ensuring the success of these efforts,” said Anne Forristall Luke, president and CEO of USTMA. “As a coalition, we view this as a critical opportunity to identify mutually beneficial uses of scrap tire materials that have the potential to meet a variety of mutual societal and policy goals.”

The letter, addressed to Biden Administration senior advisor and infrastructure coordinator Mitch Landrieu, offered technical expertise from America’s tire manufacturers and recyclers.  

The group laid out a list of potential opportunities for the application of scrap tire materials to help fulfill the Biden Administration’s mission to minimize waste, advance pollution prevention, support markets for recycled products, and promote a transition to a circular economy, including: 

  • Rubber-Modified Asphalt (RMA), a mixture of asphalt with ground rubber from end-of- life scrap tires;  
  • Tire-Derived Aggregate (TDA), a product made from recycled scrap tires.

“Our organizations work to keep end-of-life tires out of landfills by promoting strong, societally beneficial markets for scrap tires, and we support efforts to rebuild and improve America’s roadways using technologies that will increase driver safety and ensure reductions in environmental impacts,” the letter noted. 

The other stakeholders who signed the letter are: American Bus Association, Asphalt Plus, CM Shredders, Crumb Rubber Manufacturers, EcoGreen Equipment, First State Tire Recycling, Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc., International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers, Inc., Liberty Tire Recycling, Missouri Center for Transportation Innovation, The Ray, TDA Manufacturing, Tiger Eye Engineering, Tire Industry Association and United Motorcoach Association.