Worldwide more than a billion new tyres are sold per year, which remain at the end of life time or after damage as waste. Due to several environmental impacts, such as the loss of valuable resources or the hazardous potential of scrap tyres in landfills, the landfilling of tyres is prevented in the European Union by adequate legislation. The objective of waste management is to apply the best ecological and economical methods for recycling of worn out tyres to use the material or the energy content of scrap. Due to the high quality demands on tyres they are constructed as a composite of different rubber compounds, textiles and steel. These aspects are affected to a lower extent in thermal recycling, in material recovery however, the complex structure causes a major challenge. The elastic properties of rubber compounds and the construction as composite materials require high demands on waste-processing. The varying composition of the rubber compounds hinders the production of high quality fractions by separation. According to the new Waste Framework Directive of the European Union, legislature is able to focus the position of recovery in a certain direction. Nevertheless, the available plant capacities and economic aspects have to be considered. In this Master Thesis the different recovery procedures, treatment techniques, legal requirements and the current market situation of scrap tyres are defined. This should form the fundamentals for estimating the market development concerning worn out tyre recycling in the future.