Feedstock can be acquired from various sources, typically from waste collectors and large waste producers.
Tire waste: various collection systems have been developed for scrap tires, from government agencies to producer responsibility organizations. In all cases, scrap tire collectors need to dispose of them. Landfilling and burning as Tire-Derived Fuel are no longer viable options in many parts of the world. There are approximately 2 billion tires that reach their end-of-life on the planet each year.
Auto Shred Residue (“ASR”, “car fluff”): ASR is concentrated with automobile shredders. Considering there is a limited number of automobile shredding operations (e.g., 250 in the United States), ASR can easily be collected as a feedstock for a TDP turnkey facility instead of being landfilled. Over 9 million tons of ASR is generated each year.
Plastics: Even after selective waste collection, large quantities of plastics are still landfilled because plastics can easily become cross-contaminated. Once this happens, they have little commercial value and have to be landfilled. It is estimated that approximately only 7% of all plastics are recycled.
Disposed diapers: This waste is concentrated at large institutions, such as hospitals and retirement homes, and is easily available. Almost all disposed diapers end up in landfills and represent 1.4% of all landfilled solid waste streams.
Asphalt roof shingles: Because waste roof shingles are collected by roofers and normally discarded in truckload quantities, they could easily be delivered directly to TDP facilities for processing. Over 50% of all roof shingles end up in landfills.