In Russia, a proposal has been made to establish a federal operator for tire recycling

Tatneft has proposed establishing a unified national system in Russia for managing used automotive tires, including the creation of a federal operator and the introduction of a corresponding digital platform. The concept was presented to Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Patrushev during his visit to the company's production facilities in Nizhnekamsk.

According to Tatneft, up to 1 million tons of used tires are generated annually in Russia. The main issue is that more than half of them end up in unauthorized landfills, whose total volume has already exceeded 11 million tons. While tire recycling into rubber crumb is currently popular in the country, this process has a "delayed environmental impact," as the crumb breaks down into micro-rubber, polluting the environment. This creates a problem of national scale requiring a systemic solution.

Tatneft proposes building a complete chain from raw material collection to the production of new, safe materials. At the core of the concept is tracking tires throughout their lifecycle. For this reason, a key component of the system should be a unified digital platform providing control over the movement of each batch of tires from collection points to recycling plants.

"The organizational and infrastructure foundation for implementing this digital control could be the establishment of a federal operator for used tire management and the deployment of a unified network of stationary and mobile raw material collection points across regions," the company said. It added that deep tire recycling enables the production of valuable secondary materials such as technical carbon and steel cord. Furthermore, the project aims to "foster in society a new culture of circular economy and rational consumption," not only solving an environmental issue but also "contributing to strengthening technological independence."

"Used tires are a valuable resource that for decades has been perceived by society only as an environmental problem," said Naile Maganov, CEO of PJSC Tatneft. "Today, the shared task of business and government is to create conditions under which every used tire will be reliably returned into beneficial economic circulation. The company is fully ready to participate in building infrastructure capable of making responsible consumption simple, clear, and effective for all participants in the process."

Photo: Tatneft