The 4 Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle, and recover

Abstract The chapter serves as an introduction to the circular economy for tires and is based on the 4 Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle, and recover. A brief introduction to the European Union’s landfill directive is given together with the concept of waste hierarchy as expressed in an inverse pyramid. A summary of the uses for old tires is given and the chapter ends with a discussion on making recycling work and the role of the regulator and of the industry itself.