Today, Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) published a new report on the systemic barriers that are preventing Australia from achieving higher levels of tyre circularity
About the Report
The latest TSA report, called Tyre Supply Chain Analysis: Opportunities to grow Australia’s circular economy for tyres, is prepared by Randell Environmental Consulting and provides a detailed assessment to date of the pressures, gaps and inefficiencies across the Australian tyre supply chain.
The report identifies 33 issues that are limiting progress, with six of them rated as “very high.”
- Free‑riding importers who do not contribute to the Scheme levy.
- Rogue collectors undercutting accredited operators and driving illegal dumping.
- Ongoing permitted onsite burial of mining tyres.
- On‑farm dumping and burning due to high collection costs.
- Low domestic recycling rates, with only 17% of tyres recycled.
- Underdeveloped end markets limiting higher‑value recovery.
The report confirms that Australia’s tyre circular economy is not able to scale under the current model, with mandatory participation identified as the most effective mechanism to address market failures and improve national outcomes. It also states that a mandatory participation scheme (national or jurisdictional) is by far the most frequently recommended implementation approach and is recommended for five Very High and High CE constraints. The report recommends TSA and State/Territory Government joint program delivery for one Very High and three High constraints, while the implementation of other regulation including the ADRs and new tyre and TDM procurement requirements are recommended for one Very High and one High constraints.
Major amendments to TPSS are recommended for eight of the 45 implementation approaches, where two are for High, four are for Medium, and the remaining two are for Low level CE constraints.
You can read the full report here.
