When to replace worn tyres?

By law, car and van summer tyres must have a minimum of 1.6-mm tread depth, but the safety recommendation in wet weather is 4 mm. The minimum tread depth of winter tyres is 3 mm, but in demanding winter conditions, the recommended minimum depth is 5 mm.

Where to recycle end-of-life tyres?

Used tyres can be taken, free of charge, to any tyre dealer, if the tyres brought in correspond in number with the new tyres being purchased. You can return your old tyres to Finnish Tyre Recycling's collection points free of charge without a purchase obligation. You cannot dispose of tyres at landfill sites.

What kinds of tyres are accepted for recycling?

All tyres are accepted for recycling in Finland. The tyre producers have the responsibility to recycle tyres used in passenger cars, vans, trucks, mopeds, scooters, motorcycles, quadbikes, microcars, trailers, construction and forestry machinery as well as tractors and other agricultural equipment.

Can tyres be returned with rims?

Finnish Tyre Recycling’s collection points only accept tyres without rims free of charge. Rims are removed at a tyre dealer for a separately agreed fee. Kuusakoski Oy’s and Stena Recycling Oy’s service points accept tyres with rims according to their own practices.

How much does tyre recycling cost?

The tyre recycling system is funded through the recycling fee collected in connection with the purchase of new tyres. This ensures that the fee is paid for by the tyre consumers rather than the general public through taxation. For tyre-specific recycling fees, please see our website.

How are end-of-life tyres utilized?

As much as possible, the aim is to retread tyres for reuse, recycle tyres as material or reuse them as energy in accordance with the principles of the waste hierarchy. The tyre material is processed into cuts, shreds, chips or powder for different purposes.

What is the recovery rate of tyres?

In Finland, practically all end-of-life tyres are collected and recovered. The 95 percent annual recovery rate set for tyre producers is easily exceeded, because the recycling system also receives a high number of tyres which have been purchased through distance selling or from producers who are not members of the producer association.

What are the recovery rates elsewhere?

The Nordic Countries are pioneers in tyre recycling based on producer responsibility. The other EU countries only started properly developing their recycling systems in the 2000s, after the landfill directive came into force. These days, the recovery rate of end-of-life tyres is approximately 95 percent in Europe.

Who is responsible for tyre recycling in Finland?

The recycling responsibility lies with the producers, importers and retreaders. The producers must either take care of recycling independently or by joining a producer association to avoid the penalty payment for negligence. At the moment, Finnish Tyre Recycling is the only tyre producer association in Finland that has been accepted into the producer register.

Do tyre consumers have a recycling obligation?

Tyre consumers do not have a recycling obligation, but responsible consumers look after their tyres with safety and the environment in mind. Thanks to the efficient and extensive recycling system, consumers can effortlessly dispose of their end-of-life tyres free of charge.