What is crumb rubber?
Crumb rubber is recycled tyre rubber reduced to small particles. Granules and powder are rubber grades; recovered steel and textile fibre are separate materials. The right choice depends on your application and its specification.
Explore the questionsFrom tyres to material families
One rubber family
Granules and powder describe different particle sizes, not ready-made finished surfaces.
Separate recovered materials
Steel cord and textile fibre are separated from the rubber stream.
Grade is a starting point
A material name alone does not prove suitability, purity or compliance for your project.
Material basics
Choose a question to read more.
Granules, powder, steel and fibre
Choose the material family before comparing size, price or quantity.
Rubber granules and powder
Mechanical processing breaks tyre rubber into smaller pieces and separates it from other components. The rubber remains a recycled material, not a new virgin compound. ASTM uses the term recycled vulcanizate rubber for this wider material family.
Granules are commonly sold in millimetre ranges. Powder is finer material, often sold with a mesh designation. Bedrock offers black SBR granules in nominal ranges from 0.5–2 mm to 2–5 mm and 20 and 30 mesh powder. These grade names are not measured size distributions.
Recovered steel and textile
These are separate product streams, not types of rubber crumb. A steel buyer needs to discuss material condition and residual rubber; a fibre buyer needs to define the intended use and acceptable material condition. The four-family diagram does not imply equal quantities from a tyre.
Where crumb rubber is used
The application tells you which specification to ask for, not which grade to buy automatically.
Recycled tyre rubber is used in bound and moulded products, sports-surface systems, rubber compounding and rubber-modified asphalt. CalRecycle’s tire-derived products guide describes applications across paving, construction and other manufactured products.
- Surface-system buyers: start with the system designer’s material requirements and applicable project rules.
- Tile and mat manufacturers: start with the formulation, binder and finish you need to reproduce.
- Compounders and asphalt producers: start with the process specification and particle-size limits.
Do not substitute one material simply because another project uses it. A finished product’s performance depends on the complete formulation or installed system, not just its rubber ingredient. Our application overview connects these uses to the relevant material families.
Turn a material name into an enquiry
Explain what you are making, then define what the incoming material must meet.
“Crumb rubber, one container” leaves the most important question unanswered: what must that rubber do in your process?
A useful enquiry names the end product, required grade, quantity and destination. Add your existing specification if you have one. For rubber, this may include permitted particles above and below the nominal range, contamination limits and any required test method.
If you are new to the material, describe the product you intend to make instead of guessing a grade. We can discuss the material options and what needs confirming. Technical-document availability, a suitable sample and order terms must be agreed for your request; they are not automatically included because an article mentions them.
Match the material to your product
The next step is your application-specific material specification. Tell Bedrock what you manufacture or install, the grade you are considering, quantity and destination so we can discuss the supply requirements.
Discuss your material requirementCommon questions
Is crumb rubber the same as rubber powder?
They belong to the same recycled-rubber family, but powder describes finer particles. Compare the actual size specification rather than the trade name alone.
Does Bedrock supply coloured EPDM?
No. Bedrock’s rubber range is black recycled SBR granules and powder, alongside recovered steel cord and textile fibre.