Blogs

The Recycling Journey Doesn’t End at Collection Used tires shouldn’t end up in a ditch, illegal dump site, or landfill. These tires can and should be recycled. But here’s something that often gets overlooked: Collecting a tire isn’t the same as recycling it. Collection is just the first step. A tire’s path from end-of-life to new life involves several important stages, including transportation, processing, manufacturing, and ultimately a new beneficial use. Without that final step, the recycling process remains incomplete. That’s where end markets come in. What Are End Markets? An end market is the final destination for end-of-life tires. For end-of-life tires, end markets are the products and applications that utilize the materials recovered during the recycling process. They create demand for recycled materials and ensure those materials continue delivering value long after a tire’s original purpose has ended. Without end mar...

On July 7th, the Competition Bureau posted a response to proposed amendments by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks. The bureau’s comments, while notably one-sided, reinforce the value of competition in sustaining healthy markets. Surprisingly, the post also highlights a concern many stakeholders have raised for some time: Ontario’s recycling framework needs clearer rules for where competition is appropriate and where coordination is required. The broader debate has become focused on whether a recycling system should be competitive or “monopolistic,” rather than on the conditions required for competition to function effectively. That framing risks misusing the word monopoly. For example, in all other Canadian provinces, one not-for-profit organization is assigned responsibility for managing tire recycling and delivering system-wide accountability; however, that does not mean competition is absent. Competition occurs at the service-provider level, including collection, hauling, processing, and end-market development. Across Canada, this model has helped achieve some of the highest tire recycling rates in the world, precisely because it combines clear accountabili...