Paul Downey, Founder and CEO of Pliteq Inc. and a 35-year veteran of the scrap tyre sector, joins The Tyre Recycling Podcast for Episode 96. Following up on Adam Moffatt’s interview in Episode 95, Paul sits down with Ewan Scott to examine Ontario’s tyre recycling crisis from the perspective of a vertically integrated manufacturer. Tracing his career back to the 1990 Hagersville tyre fire and the construction of National Rubber’s landmark Toronto plant, he explains how Ontario’s 2018 transition from the fixed $5 eco-fee under Ontario Tire Stewardship (OTS) to an Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR) system led Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs) to underpay haulers and processors—forcing domestic grinding and milling facilities to defer maintenance, cut shifts, and shut down.
Crumb Rubber Supply & IPR Flaws: Paul Downey on Rebuilding Ontario’s Processing Sector
Paul Downey covers all this and more in Episode 96. So please join us as we learn all about the manufacturing and processing realities shaping Ontario’s tyre recycling sector.
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction to Episode #96 with Paul Downey (Pliteq)
1:13 A Manufacturer’s View of the Ontario Tyre Recycling Crisis
2:20 From the 1990 Hagersville Tyre Fire to Building National Rubber in Toronto
3:04 The 2018 IPR Transition: Six Years of Slow Processing Degradation
4:44 Crumb Rubber Demand: Why Pliteq Sources 30,000 Tonnes from the US
5:47 How PRO Underpayment Crippled Ontario’s Grinding and Milling Plants
8:05 Comparing OTS with Producer-Controlled EPR in Ontario and France
9:05 The $5 OTS Fee vs Producer Cost-Cutting and Rising Diesel Prices
11:25 Why Removing the $1M Producer Fine Cap Is Essential for System Recovery
12:00 How COVID-19 Lockdowns and Rolling Averages Triggered the 2025 Cuts
14:43 Evaluating the 80% Management Target: Will Every Tyre Be Collected?
16:00 The US Export Loophole and USTMA Data on Tyre Exports to India
17:29 Rural Logistics: Why Ontario Consolidated Collection Sites from 8,500 to 4,300
20:10 How Regulatory Instability Deters Capital Investment at Pliteq
22:45 Conclusion to Episode #96 with Paul Downey
