FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Liberty Tire Recycling and Walmart Win Prestigious Recircle Award for Circular Economy Innovation
Long-standing collaboration recognized for transforming end-of-life tires into consumer products and sustainable infrastructure solutions
Pittsburgh, PA – May 28, 2025 – Liberty Tire Recycling has been honored with the 2025 Recircle "Circular Economy Award" in recognition of its groundbreaking collaboration with Walmart that exemplifies closed-loop sustainability. The award acknowledges the innovative partnership that has successfully established a circular system to collect, recycle, and transform end-of-life tires into consumer products and infrastructure solutions.
A Longstanding Sustainability Partnership
For over two decades, Liberty Tire Recycling has worked with Walmart to create practical, market-viable circular economy solutions that demonstrate sustainability leadership across the retail and recycling industries.
Turning Waste into Value: Leadership Perspective
"This award represents what's possible when companies commit to reimagining traditional waste streams as valuable resources," said Amy Brackin, Senior Vice President of Sustainability at Liberty Tire Recycling. "Our work with Walmart has created a true circular model where tires collected from their stores return as products consumers can use to improve their homes and gardens, all while keeping millions of tires out of landfills."
Bringing Circularity to Consumers
The collaboration began with basic tire collection services from Walmart locations but evolved approximately six years ago when Liberty began manufacturing consumer products from recycled tires and selling them back through Walmart's retail channels. Today, shoppers can purchase a range of recycled rubber products in Walmart stores, including rubber mulch, garden edging, patio tiles, and other lawn and garden items.
What Circular Economy Looks Like in Practice
"We believe that every tire has more than one life to give," said Brackin. "Working with Walmart allows us to close the loop in a highly visible way that demonstrates circular economy principles to millions of consumers. When people talk about circular recycling, this is exactly what it's all about."
Scale and Impact of Tire Recycling Efforts
Liberty Tire Recycling collects over 215 million used tires annually with an 81.1 percent recovery rate, making tire recycling one of the highest recycled product categories in the country. The company has set a zero-waste goal by 2030, committing to finding every end-of-life tire a home.
Showcase Project: Rolla, Missouri Innovation
A recent showcase project at Walmart Store #101 in Rolla, Missouri, highlights the initiative's innovative approach to sustainability. The companies collaborated to repave a portion of the store's parking lot with rubberized asphalt that incorporated more than 1,200 end-of-life tires from Walmart stores, 420 gallons of used motor oil from Walmart service centers, and 170 tons of reclaimed asphalt. This triple-win solution extends the parking lot's lifespan while demonstrating creative reuse of multiple waste streams.
About the Recircle Circular Economy Award
The Recircle Awards, established to recognize excellence in sustainable practices within the tire and rubber industry, selected the Liberty-Walmart partnership from a competitive field of global applicants. The Circular Economy Award specifically honors initiatives that successfully keep materials in use, design out waste and pollution, and regenerate natural systems.
Expanding the Future of Recycled Materials
Liberty continues to actively explore new applications for recycled rubber, aiming to replace virgin materials with recycled content across more product categories. This approach aligns with both companies' broader commitments to sustainability.
Commitment to 100% Tire Recycling
"We are proud to be the leader in recycling tires, but we won't be satisfied until we recycle every tire we collect," added Brackin. "Working with forward-thinking retailers like Walmart committed to regenerative growth is critical to helping us reach that goal."
For more information about Liberty Tire Recycling and its products, visit LibertyTire.com.
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About Liberty Tire Recycling
Liberty Tire Recycling is the leading tire recycler in North America, collecting hundreds of millions of end-of-life tires and reclaiming billions of pounds of rubber each year. Through advanced technology and innovative processes, Liberty transforms scrap tires into sustainable products that support infrastructure, manufacturing, landscaping, and energy recovery. With an expanding network across the United States and Canada, Liberty partners with tire manufacturers, retailers, municipalities, and industrial customers to drive the circular economy forward and reduce environmental impact across the tire lifecycle.
About the Recircle Awards
The Recircle Awards recognize and celebrate excellence within the global tire manufacturing, retreading and recycling industries. Categories include innovation, sustainability, and circular economy achievements. For more information, visit recircleawards.com.
Key Takeaways
- Liberty Tire Recycling earned the 2025 Recircle Circular Economy Award for its closed-loop partnership with Walmart.
- A 20+ year partnership evolved from tire collection into a full circular system that returns recycled materials to store shelves.
- Used tires collected from Walmart are transformed into consumer products—like rubber mulch and patio tiles—and sold back to shoppers.
- Liberty processes over 215 million tires annually with an 81.1% recovery rate, leading one of the highest-performing recycling categories.
- The company is targeting 100% tire recycling by 2030, aiming to eliminate landfill waste entirely.
- The partnership extends into infrastructure, such as rubberized asphalt made from recycled tires, motor oil, and reclaimed materials.
- Selling recycled products through Walmart stores makes circular economy principles tangible to millions of shoppers.
- Both companies are aligned in replacing virgin materials with recycled content and advancing regenerative growth.
- The model demonstrates how corporate partnerships can turn waste streams into profitable, scalable, and sustainable systems.