ReMA opens 30-day public comment period on revised tire wire ferrous specifications

Washginton, DC — The Recycled Materials Association Board of Directors on April 13 approved proposed revisions to its ferrous special scrap tire specification, triggering a 30-day public comment period beginning with this notice.

The comment period follows procedures outlined in ReMA’s ISRI Specifications governing the addition, amendment or withdrawal of specifications. Comments should be directed to ReMA Chief Economist Emily Sanchez.

The current specification is titled Ferrous — Special (Scrap Tire). Proposed revisions would rename it Ferrous — Special (Tire Wire), revise processed tire wire grades and add an off-the-road (OTR) category for pulled bead wire, aligned with existing truck and passenger categories.

Under the proposed changes, processed tire wire grades would begin at 1% rubber and fiber content, then increase to 3% and 5%, followed by 5% increments up to 30%, creating nine grades in total. The changes are intended to reflect higher value and emerging markets for cleaner wire.

The percentage of rubber and fiber in tire wire would be determined by mutual agreement between buyer and seller.

Processed tire wire, which is ferrous and chopped, would be classified as follows: Grade 1 would contain 1% or less rubber and fiber; Grade 2, 1% to 3%; Grade 3, 3% to 5%; Grade 4, 5% to 10%; Grade 5, 10% to 15%; Grade 6, 15% to 20%; Grade 7, 20% to 25%; Grade 8, 25% to 30%; and Grade 9, more than 30%.

Pulled bead wire, which is not chopped and consists of loops of wire, would include three categories: off-the-road (OTR), truck and passenger. In each category, Grade 1 would contain less than 5% rubber and fiber; Grade 2, 5% to 10%; and Grade 3, more than 10%.

More information on the procedures governing specification changes is available at ISRI Specifications website.