The Tire Industry Project launches real-world pilot to assess wastewater treatment for removing tire and road wear particles

Groundbreaking study at one of Europe’s largest wastewater treatment facilities advances science-based solutions for tire and road wear particle mitigation.

The Tire Industry Project (TIP), in collaboration with the Greater Paris Sanitation Authority (SIAAP) and sustainability consultancy ERM, has launched a pioneering pilot project to evaluate how effectively wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) can remove tire and road wear particles (TRWP).

The study is being conducted throughout 2026 at SIAAP’s Valenton wastewater treatment plant near Paris, France. As the second-largest wastewater treatment facility in Europe and one of the continent’s most advanced municipal treatment sites, Valenton provides a representative environment for assessing modern wastewater management practices at scale.

Advancing understanding of tire and road wear particles through real-world testing

Tire and road wear particles are generated through normal tire use and road interaction and have become an increasingly important area of environmental research. In many urban environments worldwide, rainwater and road runoff enter municipal wastewater systems before being discharged into rivers and other waterways.

Understanding the effectiveness of wastewater treatment processes in capturing and removing TRWP could help inform future wastewater management practices and support broader environmental protection efforts.

Currently, scientific evidence systematically measuring TRWP removal in wastewater treatment plants remains limited. TIP’s pilot is designed to generate robust, end-to-end data that delivers a clearer understanding of how these particles move through treatment systems and where removal may occur.

The initiative also marks TIP’s first real-world implementation of one of the nine priority mitigation measures identified in its white paper, Commitment to Addressing Tire and Road Wear Particles.

How the wastewater treatment pilot will work

The pilot will run until the end of 2026 and analyse samples collected across multiple stages of treatment at the Valenton facility.

Researchers will use advanced laboratory methods, including pyrolysis gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (PY-GC/MS), to quantify tire and road wear particles and estimate removal efficiency across the complete wastewater treatment process.

Findings from the study are expected to be submitted to a scientific journal for peer review, with publication anticipated in early 2027.

From scientific research to practical mitigation solutions

Tire and road wear particles remain a complex and evolving area of study due to differences in particle characteristics, environmental pathways, transformation processes and the current lack of standardised measurement approaches.

Alongside efforts to support harmonised methodologies and tire abrasion standards, TIP and its member companies continue to invest in scientific research that strengthens understanding of TRWP quantification, environmental movement, characterisation and potential impacts.

In 2024, TIP published its Commitment to Addressing Tire and Road Wear Particles, reviewing more than 50 mitigation measures identified in scientific literature. From this analysis, nine priority approaches were selected based on their potential to reduce TRWP through prevention, containment and removal strategies.

The report highlighted that no single intervention or stakeholder can solve the issue independently. Meaningful progress will require coordinated action across industries and institutions, including tire manufacturers, automotive companies, road infrastructure stakeholders, municipal authorities, academic researchers, and public and private sector partners.

The review also concluded that no mitigation strategy has yet been conclusively proven effective specifically for TRWP removal under real-world conditions, reinforcing the importance of field-based validation.

The Valenton pilot represents TIP’s first initiative to evaluate wastewater treatment performance in operational conditions and to generate practical evidence that may inform future mitigation strategies.

Leadership perspectives

“This pilot represents an important step in moving beyond laboratory understanding towards real-world evidence,” said Larisa Kryachkova, Executive Director at TIP. “We aim to identify best practices that extend beyond this project and support the development of science-based mitigation approaches.”

“As the public authority responsible for wastewater treatment across the Paris region, SIAAP is committed to supporting emerging science that helps protect waterways,” said Sabrina Guérin, Head of Innovation Department at SIAAP. “Participating in this study gives us an early, evidence-based understanding of how tire and road wear particles move through treatment systems and can help guide future planning and readiness for evolving regulatory expectations.”