How to Start a Tire Recycling Business?
China discards over 290 million tires annually. These “black rubber giants” removed from their rims pile up in mountains, not only occupying vast amounts of land resources but also posing environmental challenges due to their difficulty in natural degradation. However, driven by environmental pressure and circular economy policies, this massive figure hides a trillion-dollar blue ocean market opportunity. Looking back at the industry’s development trajectory, from the late 1980s to the early 1990s, due to outdated recycling technology and limited environmental awareness, China’s tire recycling rate remained stagnant at a low 11%. At that time, most waste tires were either left exposed outdoors or simply buried, not only breeding mosquitoes and spreading pathogens but also causing residual chemicals to continuously pollute soil and groundwater. It wasn’t until after the year 2000, with breakthroughs in key technologies such as thermal cracking and fine rubber powder production, along with the introduction of policies like the “Guidelines for the Comprehensive Utilization of Waste Tires,” that the industry experienced explosive growth. By 2017, the recycling rate of waste tires had surged to 81.4%, successfully transforming “black pollution” into high-value-added products such as recycled rubber, rubber powder, and tire-derived fuel. Despite significant progress, the industry...
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