Contractor’s Report
to CalRecycle
34
As Table 4 shows, theoretically the greatest opportunity for market expansion in broad terms is in
ground rubber markets, especially rubberized asphalt concrete. However, the relatively small
molded and extruded segment is a high-value market with potential that could exceed the
maximum market size, if technologies and business models are adapted to use ground rubber in a
growing number of consumer products. Ground rubber markets, in aggregate, have the largest
market size potential of between 44 and 61.7 million passenger tire equivalents per year.
Within civil engineering, non-landfill applications have the greatest potential to divert more tires,
with an estimated capacity of 14.1 to 20.7 million waste tires annually, vs. 3 to 4 million
passenger tire equivalents through landfill civil engineering uses. The tire-derived fuel market
reached a 39-51 percent market penetration rate in 2012. It has the potential to consume an
estimated 15–20 million passenger tire equivalents annually; however, CalRecycle is statutorily
prohibited from funding projects promoting this as an end use. It is expected that the consumption
of tire-derived fuel among the four cement kilns using waste tires/tire chips as a fuel source will
increase in 2013.
In 2012 it is estimated that the alternative daily cover market reached a market penetration rate of
3 percent, with an opportunity to potentially consume an additional 35-40 million passenger tire
equivalents over 2012 levels. However, alternative daily cover is a low-value market which can
be mutually beneficial to landfills and processors, but is considered by most to be a market of last
resort, before landfilling. Retreading has some room for growth, and some retreaders said they
expected modest growth in 2013. Used tires appear to be at or near maximum size after a jump in
2012.
Barriers to Expanding Diversion
While there is opportunity to expand market penetration for the various market categories and
segments, there are also important barriers to doing so. Table 5 lists some key barriers to growth,
identifying them as either financial, policy, technical, research/informational or
outreach/educational in order to indicate the types of activities that could potentially overcome
them. Note: these barriers remain largely unchanged from those reported in 2011.
Table 5
Barriers to Expanding Market Penetration for Waste Tire Market Segments
Market Category/Sub-
Categories
Barriers
Ground Rubber
All Ground Rubber
Economic
– Ground rubber producers are seeing reduced tip fee
revenues and increased competition for tires due to expanding
exports, and reduced revenue and increased competition for product
sales due to incentivized producers outside of California and a North
American oversupply of ground rubber.
