The Tire Recycling Foundation (TRF) announced the winners of its inaugural Circle of Change Awards, honoring projects that transform end-of-life tires into practical, sustainable materials that benefit communities, protect the environment, and showcase opportunities in ELT end-use markets.
From resilient roadways to innovative infrastructure and advanced manufacturing partnerships, this year鈥檚 honorees showcase the growing momentum and ingenuity driving end-use markets for recycled tires. 鈥淓very end-of-life tire represents an opportunity to transform what would have been considered waste into something that strengthens our communities,鈥� said Stephanie Mull, executive director of the Tire Recycling Foundation. 鈥淭his year鈥檚 winners are proof that when the industry works together, tire recycling can simultaneously strengthen infrastructure, drive meaningful environmental progress and support local economies.鈥�
The 2026鈥疌ircle of Change Award Winners:聽
The following winners were announced during Tire Recycling Awards Luncheon at the just-ended 10th Tire Recycling Conference in Denver, Colorado.
Circular Economy Trailblazer Award 鈥� North Carolina
North Carolina鈥檚 Scrap Tire Program Modernization updated its funding framework to stabilize county collection and recycling, reduce illegal dumping and create a dedicated platform for integrating tire鈥慸erived materials into transportation and public works projects.
Innovation in End-Use Technology Award 鈥� LHB Engineering & St. Paul Port Authority
This collaboration redeveloped the former Midway Stadium brownfield site in St. Paul, Minn., with an underground stormwater system that uses roughly 30,000 yards of tire鈥慸erived aggregate (TDA) to protect the Mississippi River from contaminated runoff, demonstrating a scalable model for pairing site cleanup with recycled鈥憁aterial infrastructure.
Market Development Excellence Award 鈥� Michigan EGLE and Partners 聽
Michigan EGLE and its coalition of public, private and academic partners built a coordinated, multi鈥憇ector effort that uses demonstrations, field data and stakeholder outreach to prove how tire鈥慸erived aggregate (TDA), rubber鈥憁odified asphalt (RMA) and porous pavements can deliver real transportation and stormwater solutions while accelerating market adoption of recycled tire materials.
Value Chain Collaboration Award 鈥� Bolder Industries & Pirelli Tire LLC
This partnership establishes a fully traceable, closed鈥憀oop system that turns manufacturing scrap tires into recovered carbon black and feeds it back into commercial tire production, cutting emissions and resource use while proving circular tire manufacturing can work at scale.
The 2026 winning projects exemplify how tire recycling and tire-derived products are proven pillars of sustainability and economic growth, and underscore that active state ELT programs, with a strong focus on creating and sustaining innovative markets, offer a successful path forward.
鈥淲hat stands out about the 2026 winners is how embedded tire recycling has become in real-world decision making,鈥� said Dick Gust, president of the Tire Recycling Foundation. 鈥淭he success of these projects sends a clear signal that when recyclers, engineers, transportation agencies, state and local governments, manufacturers and private industry work together, end-use markets grow. That鈥檚 the integrated approach we need to continue building on.鈥�