Elastomers have their specific properties due to chemical crosslinking between the caoutchouc polymer chains. Thus, they are unique in the combination of hyperelastic and damping properties and cannot be replaced by any other material type.

But due to this chemical crosslinking they are rather difficult to recycle as they cannot be remelted like thermoplastics and metals for example.

The number of End-of-Life tyres is rapidly increasing worldwide. Therefore, the need to close the circle of production is high. Technical rubber goods scraps are less in weight but are of very high diversity which is an issue for recycling of itself.

Despite of this there are some ways to turn the initial waste into a valuable resource for secondary raw materials and energy, that are presented in this contribution. But there are still some challenges bound to them and further research is needed. Those challenges are also addressed as well as the next steps how to encounter them.