Schwalbe tyre recycling to expand beyond Germany in 2027

Schwalbe, a German bicycle tyre manufacturer, is expanding its tyre recycling initiative beyond Germany, with Austria being the first country to participate. The company has initiated a pilot phase in Austria, with plans to extend the program to the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg in the coming months. Schwalbe aims for a full implementation in these four countries by 2027. In Germany, the recycling scheme, which began in July 2022, has involved over 2,000 dealers and resulted in the collection and recycling of more than 2.6 million tyres as of August 2026.

The recycling process involves collecting used tyres from participating dealers and sending them to Pyrum Innovations AG for processing. The tyres are shredded and separated into rubber granulate, steel, and textile components. Through pyrolysis, the rubber is converted into secondary materials, including recycled carbon black (rCB) and pyrolysis oil. Schwalbe incorporates this rCB into approximately 70% of its product portfolio.

The environmental benefits of this recycling process are notable. Schwalbe reports that the recycled carbon black emits about 73% fewer greenhouse gases per tonne compared to traditional fossil-derived carbon black. This figure is based on a partial carbon footprint assessment using the GWP100 method from the IPCC's sixth assessment report. Both the rCB and pyrolysis oil are reused in production, avoiding incineration.

The German program was developed in collaboration with TH Köln (the Cologne University of Applied Sciences) and Pyrum Innovations AG. At its inception, no similar take-back and recycling system for bicycle tyres existed globally. Despite the expansion to Austria and other European countries, France is not currently included in the announced markets for this initiative.