Chuvashia has begun a large-scale collection of worn-out car tires that accumulate in yards, forests, and illegal dumps. Tires are no longer simply shredded or sent to landfills – they are integrated into an industrial chain, which yields motor fuel components and new rubber.

The first stage of the joint campaign by the Ministry of Natural Resources of Chuvashia and Tatneft concluded last week. The collected rubber is sent to the company's enterprises, where the tires undergo deep processing. This process yields not only rubber crumb but also pyrolysis gas, solid carbon residue, and liquid pyrolysis condensate.

It is the liquid component that allows old tires to be transformed into raw material for the fuel industry. Pyrolysis condensate is sent to the TANEKO complex, where, after chemical processing, it is used to produce fuel components and isobutane. The latter is used in the production of isoprene rubber, which can then re-enter the composition of car tires.

This creates a closed loop: after wear, a car tire does not remain in a landfill but is separated into useful components. One part returns to oil refining, while the other becomes raw material for rubber and new rubber products. In 2026, Tolyattikauchuk already launched the production of synthetic rubber from components obtained from the processing of car tires.

Residents of Chuvashia, municipalities, car services, and tire fitting workshops are invited to join the collection. Worn-out tires are accepted free of charge so that the rubber goes not to forests and landfills, but to processing into fuel and petrochemical raw materials.