South Korea is investing KRW 73 billion in new technologies to turn waste clothing and waste tyres into higher-value recycled materials
The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (MCEE) and the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute have launched a national R&D programme running from 2026 to 2030. Of the total KRW 73 billion investment, KRW 48 billion will go towards technologies that help recover high-quality raw materials from waste tyres and incorporate them into new tyre production.
More than 60% of waste tyres in South Korea are currently used as thermal feedstock, while some are processed into recycled carbon black (rCB). However, the MCEE says the durability and quality of existing recycled materials limit the amount of rCB that can be incorporated into new tyres to around 5%.
The new programme aims to overcome this limitation. Researchers will develop improved pre-treatment processes, including shredding before pyrolysis, to produce higher-quality rCB and enable more than 15% recycled carbon black to be used in new tyres.
South Korea already has a developing tyre-to-tyre recycling sector and generates around 400,000 end-of-life tyres annually. LD Carbon’s 50,000-tonne-per-year Dangjin facility, opened in 2025, processes tyre chips into rCB and pyrolysis oil, with an overall recycling rate of up to 98%.
The latest government investment builds on this industrial development, while also preparing South Korea’s tyre industry for future international recycled-content requirements, including those emerging from the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation.
Source: Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment
