Bonn, July 28, 2025. According to estimates by ZARE partners, the share of sealed and silent tires in the volume of used tires has risen to around 4 percent, corresponding to approximately 2.400 tons annually – and the trend is rising. This increasing prevalence poses a growing problem for professional and environmentally friendly disposal, as self-sealing or sound-damped tires can only be recycled with increased effort and special measures. Sealed tires cannot be retreaded.
Seal tires contain a viscous, black-colored sealant that automatically settles into the damaged area when punctured. These tires cannot be retreaded and can only be recycled with limitations and significantly increased costs.
The sealant is barely visible from the outside, necessitating manual and laborious sorting. It can clog and contaminate the shredding tools in recycling plants. There's also an increased fire hazard – sealed tires can spontaneously ignite in shredding machines if not identified in time.
Silent tires, which are designed to dampen noise with special foam inserts, offer no real safety advantage. Rather, they allow car manufacturers to cut back on interior soundproofing. Tire disposal is significantly more complex and expensive due to the additional materials.
Important to know: Sealed and silent tires play a minor role in the replacement market, but are primarily installed as original equipment at the factory. This supposed advantage therefore disappears after the tire's first lifespan – approximately after 40.000 kilometers or even when switching to winter tires for the first time. Drivers, however, are usually unaware of this. Even more critical: Automotive safety experts warn that the suggested safety gain is deceptive – as a result, many drivers neglect regular tire checks.
Some waste disposal companies no longer accept sealed tires at all. ZARE partners are therefore calling for manufacturers to require them to clearly and obligatorily label these tires to avoid disruptions or even fires in the recycling process.
The ZARE initiative aims to raise awareness among tire dealers and car repair shops about the need to carefully separate sealed and silent tires and to comprehensively inform their customers about their negative ecological and economic impacts.
For specialist retailers and workshops, sealed and silent tires not only require more effort in terms of disposal, but also in terms of service. In principle, repairs to these tire types are permitted by law. As with any tire repair, the guidelines for the repair of pneumatic tires (StVZO § 36), the legal requirements for commercial repair operations, and the general specifications of tire and repair material manufacturers must be observed.
However, repairing sealed and silent tires often requires increased effort and special measures for workshops. Assessing any structural damage caused by flat rolling is often difficult for workshops. When repairing a silent tire in the tread area, the foam insert and any (residual) adhesive layer in the puncture area must also be removed to the required extent (up to approximately 5 mm beyond the edge of the repair patch). Standard tires without a sealant or foam layer, on the other hand, can usually be repaired just as quickly and cost-effectively, and the vehicle can be driven on again.
You can find more information about certified waste tire disposal and our partners at: https://zertifizierte-altreifenentsorger.de
About the ZARE initiative
The ZARE initiative is an amalgamation of 18 companies organized in the Federal Association of Tire Trade and Vulcanizing Trades (BRV), 17 of which are certified waste management companies. The ZARE partners have set themselves the task of raising awareness of professional tire recycling in Germany. ZARE informs drivers about the environmentally friendly disposal of used tires. At 29 locations, the ZARE partners cover almost all of Germany and the Netherlands.
The partners of the initiative are:
Allgemeine Gummiwertstoff und Reifenhandels GmbH, Bender Reifen Recycling GmbH, Containertransporte Wesseler GmbH, CVS Reifen GmbH, Danninger OHG Spezialtransporte, Erwin Welzenbach Spedition GmbH, G & K Recycling Utsch GmbH, Hartung Speditions-, Handels- und Transport GmbH, HRV GmbH, KARGRO BV, KRAIBURG Austria GmbH & Co. KG, KURZ Karkassenhandel GmbH, Mondo Reifenmarkt GmbH, MRH Mülsener Rohstoff- und Handelsgesellschaft mbH, Reifen DRAWS GmbH, Reifen Külshammer, Reifengruppe Ruhr, REIFEN OKA – Reifenhandel
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Picture: high_disposal_costs_for_seal_and_silent_tires
Image caption: Sealed and silent tires are expensive, have limited repairability, and are worse for the environment than standard tires. Image source: KURZ Karkassenhandel GmbH.
Source: ZARE initiative
