Sign Up to the Leading Journal in the Tyre Recycling Industry
Tyre and Rubber Recycling provides the global tyre recycling sector with a regular free e-newsletter service. At least 50 newsletters are produced each year detailing all the latest news and features from our pages. To make sure you don’t miss out on the latest news stories from around the world please submit your details via the form below, and we’ll happily add you to our circulation list.
Tire Stewardship British Columbia will be providing $30,000 to the Ocean Legacy Foundation in each of the next five years to support the foundation’s scrap-tyre clean up operations in BC
In 2022 alone, Ocean Legacy cleaned up over 2,000 scrap tyres from a small island off the Sunshine Coast.
“We are responsible for the tyre recycling so we felt it was just a natural fit, and really just an obligation on our part to fund the work that Ocean Legacy is doing,” said Tire Stewardship B.C. executive director Rosemary Sutton.
Ocean Legacyworks to remove foam-filled tyres from beach cleanups or dock deconstructions, and then passes them to other operators to recycle.
“These funds are going to be critical in allowing our team to continue accessing remote coastal locations around the province to remove pollution that has been reported,” said Chloe Dubois, Executive Director and co-founder of Ocean Legacy.
“I think it’s just important to highlight that humans are really the only species on this planet that create garbage. If we are in a position to take responsibility for the waste that we create, we need to do so,” Dubois said.
“This partnership with Tire Stewardship B.C. is an important puzzle piece in helping to secure that annual funding,” said Dubois.
Established in 1991, Tire Stewardship B.C has recycled more than 100 million tyres into new products.
Sutton added; “I think for us, it is just an absolute win. We are obligated to deal with tyres, and to go from having to say, ‘I’m sorry they have to go to the landfill’, to the fact that we now have a solution is an incredible win for everybody. For us, for Ocean Legacy, for the public, for the environment.”
Big Atom has made a planning application for a pyrolysis plant at Knottingly, Wakefield
The Wakefield Express carried a list of planning applications this week, which included an application for a tyre pyrolysis treatment plant by FCC Environment.
FCC Environment operates a number of waste and recycling sites, but this is a new step for the company as it looks at pyrolysis.
The planning application has actually been made by Big Atom, the company which bought a recycling plant at Ellesmere Port with a view to developing a occupy 1.7 Hectares and have a covered area of a covered area of 3158.8 square metres to house, offices, plant and equipment and store finished product before shipping.
The completed plant, if approved, should employ 43 full time staff according to the planning application. Expected throughput is stated as being 27,000 tonnes.
Tyre and Rubber Recycling approached Big Atom but had no response at this time.
SDAB will be holding a launch event for the Linköping recycling plant in September
Save the date, 26th September 2023, if you want to visit SDAB’s new tyre recycling facility in Linköping, where you will find some of the best tyre recycling technology in the world open to view.
The new plant is part of SDAB’s move to take control of tyre recovery in Sweden and improve the recycling outcomes with higher-value products and less emphasis on exports and waste-to-energy operations. However, the latter will continue as a key route to disposal unless more viable options arise.
The Linköping plant covers four hectares and is planned to recycle around 90,000 tons of tyres per year. The facility will become a hub for exploring new technologies and new markets for recycled tyre materials.
TNU’s latest “Did You Know That Campaign?” tells us that ecological rugby balls are made by recycling used tyres
TNU explains to the uninitiated the way tyres are recycled and then discusses one of its latest developments.
One of the latest uses created for the rubber powder from the ELT, and which add to as long list of innovations, is its use in the manufacture of ecological rugby balls. The sports brand Rhino has launched a new generation of rugby balls on the market whose manufacture is made from 80 per cent recycled tyre rubber and 20 per cent natural rubber.
TNU advises that with the rubber recovered from an end-of-life tyre, 21 of these 360-gram rugby balls can be manufactured, saving the environment 32.85 kg of CO2 emissions, 10.50 litres of oil and 878 litres of water.
Taking into account the current climate and energy crisis and the scarcity of raw materials, the reuse of end-of-life tyre components is key to moving towards a sustainable future.
SDAB’s annual report has been made available in Swedish and English, and for anyone looking for an overview of the sector, this is a good summary of the industry
Whilst many annual reports focus on the financial state of play, SDAB’s report is an update on how the industry looks and what the latest developments in the sector are.
The aim of the report is to give readers a wider understanding of what tyre recycling does and why it is important. This is an introduction to the reasons for and the outputs of tyre recycling. This SDAB report is a guide to the industry and is very accessible to the layperson.
SDAB took over the ownership of Sweden’s tyre arisings in 2023, with a view to improving the way tyres were recycled. The approach has put more emphasis on different types of high-value tyre recycling from around the world. Ranging from rubber in concrete to fashionable shoes and furniture.
The report explains how SDAB supports market opportunities and innovation. SDAB has long been a key player in CERUB, a Scandinavian-led sustainability labelling that ensures the traceability of materials and supports end-of-waste classification.
It also announces the launch of a much-needed research portal, ELTRP, which will be a database of tyre recycling-related research from around the world. Something that should be a very useful tool for those looking for tyre recycling solutions.
Sweden’s tyre recycling statistics show that in 2022, the export of whole tyres dropped to 689k tons from 1,040K tons in 2020. This is a figure that fluctuates, but the level of exports was something that Fredrik Ardefors, CEO of SDAB, had been concerned bout and wanted to see reduced in the coming years. The granulate market in Sweden dropped to 27k tons in 2022, whilst energy recovery in cement kilns has climbed to 45, 473k tons. It is difficult to see clear trends other than in the granulate market.
In recent years, there has been a remarkable surge in interest surrounding the recycling of used tyres, as individuals and businesses alike strive to minimise their environmental impact.But why should companies invest in tyre recycling?
Besides the social and environmental commitment, the recycling of used tyres can lead to numerous economic advantages for companies, including:
New market opportunities: tyre recycling can open up new market opportunities because the recycled materials can be used to produce a wide range of products such as pavements, synthetic turf, sound insulation and gardening products;
Resource savings: recycling used tyres allows companies to recover valuable materials such as rubber, steel and textile fibres which can be reused for the production of new tyres or the creation of other products;
Reducing costs: disposing of used tyres can be expensive due to environmental regulations and waste taxes. Recycling them instead can be a cheaper option, as the recycled materials can be sold or used internally;
The correct disposal of end-of-life tyres (ELT) or used tyres: For the processing of used tyres, FORREC has for years been developing machinery capable of treating high production volumes and guaranteeing high quality output. Indeed, FORREC has developed the MR series single shaft shredders, ideal for the tyres processing and designed with some interesting features, such as:
Single shaft with parallel axis engine reducer;
Configurable automatic gear reversal;
Bearings outside of the cutting chamber;
Automatic greasing managed by PLC;
Epicyclic reducer MR1500 / Absence of reducers MR2000;
Configurable blades for thickness and number of teeth.
The MR series, like all the other FORRECmachinery, can be customised according to customer’s needs and specific material properties. If you want to discover more, visit FORREC’s website: https://www.forrec.eu
India introduced its draft regulation of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for waste tyres under the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 on 31st December 2021
The guidelines paved the way for producers, and recyclers to streamline their operations as per the guidelines of the new EPR regime. The latest TRRAI conference discussed the challenges and opportunities facing the tyre & rubber recycling industry.
With the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Ministry of Environment, Forest, & Climate Change (MoEFCC) portal for EPRregistration in place, it has become easier for new and existing players to meet the compliance.
Presently, registration of producers/scrap tyre importers has been started on the EPR portal but the option of registration for recyclers has not yet started. Soon the registration of recyclers will also start as the initial glitches are sorted out.
According to TRRAI, so far, around 20 registrations have been made in the category of producers. “The top nine companies have 80 to 90% market share, out of which eight companies have registered on the portal, the manufacturers of B & C grade tyre/tubes and flaps are yet to be registered, along with the recyclers who import scrap tyres for recycling and disposal, whose number is close to 50,” confided Satish Goyal, President, TRRAI. He was addressing the 2nd World Sustainability Summit 2023 was organised in New Delhi on June 10th 2023, to discuss “End-of Life Tyre Management: Past Experiences & Future Perspectives”.
In order to help all the 330 registered members of the TRRAI, the association formed a dedicated group named “tyrecykle” which will help in the EPR process, which includes registration of all the members, and attaining their getting their EPR certificate.
“Speedy implementation of SOP, registration of recyclers in EPR, and the immediate closure of pyrolysis plants operating in illegal ways across India, could see the sector transformed into a profitable environment-friendly recycling industry.”
The current EPR notification limits the “Producer Responsibility “only to purchase EPR Certificates for meeting their obligation and filing of quarterly returns on time. “The process of EPR certificate generation, and the weightage allocated to various end products as defined in the EPR notification leads to a situation wherein there will be a significant gap between the obligations / liability of tyre manufacturers and the availability of EPR Certificates,” believes Dr. Bipin Kumar Rai Head – Environment Protection, Safety & Health Continental India (Tyres).
This situation is expected to further worsen because of the delay in online portal functioning, which ultimately compels the tyre producers to purchase theEPR Certificatesfor their current year liability as well as past year liability. For the success of the implementation process, the government must focus on making the online portal functional without glitches and should review the timeline and weightage based on the actual data of recycling capacity vs tyre producer obligations.
“Tyre producers should not play a passive role in this process and must not keep them only in negotiating the EPR Certificate prices with the recyclers. As a “producer” tyre OEMs are responsible for managing the end-of-life of their products and must be actively engaged with recyclers and the government to build a financially viable and environmentally beneficial ecosystem where they could maximise the ‘functional use” of material and energy of discarded products. Collaboration, transparency, and innovation are the three key words which pave the path for overall business sustainability.”
Rahul Saxena, General Manager, Technical Services & Fleets, Indag Rubberbelieves the EPR policy will help in organising the large unorganised sector of the retreading industry. “Currently, India’s retreading market is 50% organised and 50% unorganised. About 800,000 tyres are retreaded annually. The new EPR policy is expected to make formalise the whole industry, which will improve the standards in the industry.”
He further seeks input credit weightage for retreaders and manufacturers, and also called for inclusion of the TREA (Tyre Retreading Education Association) or retread companies like Indag to be appointed to steering committee of EPR for waste tyres.
LCV figures in lakh units
PCR figures in Lakh units
According to a statement from the Indian government, India produces 650,000 tyres and discards 275,000 tyres approximately. About 300,000 tonnes of tyres are imported into the country each year for recycling and disposal. India’s waste tyres account for about 6-7% of the global total.
These figures seem somewhat under-estimated, since most trade figures show India’s tyre industry producing 169 – 170 million units per year. Apollo’s Andhra Pradesh plant is planned to produce 900,000 truck tyres per annum and 4.5 million car tyres, and that is the company’s fifth Indian plant. JK tyre started in 1977 with a production of 0.5 million tyres and now claims in excess of 16 million tyres (including those made in Mexico). Additionally, in 2022, the UK alone was recorded as having exported some 366,000 tyres to India. Even allowing for non-EPR-related production, the figures used don’t seem to be realistic. – Ed
Seminar brought together 150+ participants and 15+ speakers, including key stakeholders like tyre manufacturers and suppliers, rubber & tyre recyclers, retreaders & policymakers. The newly launched Tyre & Rubber Recyclers Association of India (TRRAI) and Reverse Logistic Group (RLG) in association with Policy Times, organised the day-long Seminar.
Valebridge Media Services has announced the shortlisted nominees for 15 categories.
The voting window is now open and will close on the 8th of September 2023.
The winners will be announced in a live ceremony on November 16th at Futurmotive – Expo and Talks at Autopromotec.
Valebridge Media Services(VMS), the international media services company in Crewe (United Kingdom) and Madrid (Spain), has announced the shortlist of nominees for the 2023 edition of theRecircle Awards, the event organised to promote and recognise sustainable innovation, production processes, management and services in the tyre retreading and recycling sector.
The shortlist, chosen from a preliminary list of candidates nominated by the public has once again been compiled by the Recircle Awards Nominations Committee made up of 14 experts, including respected tyre industry journalists, industry association heads and independent consultants from around the world.
The shortlisted nominees for the 15 award categories open to public vote are as follows:
In line with previous editions of the Recircle Awards, the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Tyre Recycling Sector will be decided by the Recircle Awards Nominations Committee and announced during the ceremony in Bologna in November.
David Wilson, the Chairman of the Recircle Awards Nominations Committee and Publisher of Retreading Business y Tyre & Rubber Recycling, wanted to highlight the notable increase in nominations in relation to the 2022 edition, “Since we launch the Recircle Awards, we have delighted with the reception it has received year after year. But this edition has once again, exceeded our expectations. We have received more than 1,100 individual nominations, which is 250 more than last year,” commented Wilson. “It is very satisfying to see the Recircle Awards continuing to establish itself further at an international level in each edition. We will continue to be committed to recognising the efforts of people, institutions and companies who promoting the values of the circular economy in our sector.
We wish good luck to all the nominees in the final vote,” concluded the Chairman of the Recircle Awards Nominations Committee.
Valebridge Media Services also announced that the voting window is now open for the 2023 edition of the Recircle Awards. The public can now vote for their candidates after registering themselves on the website of the 2023 Recircle Awards: https://recircleawards.com/categories-2023/. The voting system allows for only one vote per person per category. Registered voters from the 2022 edition are encouraged to use their credentials from the previous year to login and vote.
Voting in the 2023 Recircle Awards is open until 23:59 GMT on Friday September the 8th 2023, with the 2023 Recircle Awards being announced on Thursday the 16th of November 2023 in an awards ceremony which is due to take part within the framework of Futurmotive – Expo and Talks organized by the trade fair Autopromotec in Bologna, Italy.
About The Recircle Awards:
The Recircle Awards is an industry awards event recognising excellence and innovation within the tyre retreading and recycling sectors in terms of sustainability and contribution to the Circular Economy. Now in its third year, the Recircle Awards attracted over 7,000 votes from around the world in its inaugural year, with winners hailing from five continents. In 2022, live awards ceremonies were held at Autopromotec and The Tire Cologne, Europe’s two largest industry exhibitions for the tyre industry.
About Valebridge Media Services:
Valebridge Media Services is an innovative British communication agency specialised in the automotive industry. Featuring specific departments for communication and PR, production and video editing, graphic design, 3D, events, design and on-line programming, the agency offers comprehensive solutions for companies of the automotive industry. Valebridge Media Services, founded in 2017 with offices in Crewe (United Kingdom), Madrid (Spain) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), provides creative solutions to more than 20 important companies from the automotive industry internationally.
The company operates as part of a wider publishing group specialising in business-to-business publications for the tyre and automotive sector, including Retreading Business, Tyre & Rubber Recycling, Commercial Tyre Business, The Tyreman and Truck & Bus News.
SUEZ’s development brings Pyrum’sdeal with one of the UK’s largest waste contractors to light. Pyrum had hinted at six plants destined for the UK, and this is the first step in putting these in place.
In this first year of the arrangement, the utility company, which is part of the SUEZ Group and is active in water and waste management, will identify the location for the first plant and initiate the approval process, in which Pyrum will assist. SUEZ will bear the costs of the approval process. The planned plant will comprise three pyrolysis reactors with a recycling capacity of around 20,000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres per year. Following successful approval, the first plant is to be built in England.
Pascal Klein, CEO of Pyrum Innovations AG said; “The European rollout of our unique technology continues to progress. In SUEZ, we were able to partner with one of the leading companies in the field of sustainable solutions and innovative technologies for the British circular economy. Working together, Pyrum and SUEZ will benefit from each other’s expertise. The first site will now be identified as soon as possible. We will then work together to complete the approval process with the local authorities.”
John Scanlon, CEO of SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK added; “This agreement marks an exciting milestone for SUEZ as leaders in the development of a more circular, resource-efficient UK economy, we’re excited to partner with Pyrum, who are also leaders in their field. With our expertise in delivering new infrastructure, SUEZ is the natural choice to pioneer this innovative technology in the UK, which will see a vast improvement in the recycling of end-of-life tyres and a significant reduction in CO2 emissions compared with current tyre recycling technologies. We look forward to working together over the coming year to develop plans for the first UK plant.”
This follows the initiation of two other projects in Germany and the upscaling of Pyrum’splant at Dillingen, expected to be on-stream this year.
The demand for alternative outlets for tyre materials will increase considerably if the microplastic ban on crumb rubber infill goes ahead, as is expected.
Continental is the first manufacturer to launch a series of tyres with 65% sustainable materials and triple A on the label: the UltraContact NXT
The CEO of the company, Niko Setzer, has presented to the media convoked around the world, during the Techshow event held in Frankfurt, the tyre of the most sustainable series manufactured to date: the UltraContact NXT. With up to 65% of renewable materials, recycled and mass balance certificates, it combines a remarkably high proportion of sustainable materials with maximum security and performance. Continental is the first manufacturer that launches a tyre with a high proportion of sustainable materials and the maximum performance with the EU tyre label in a series production. The 19 dimensions available will carry the maximum possible qualification (“A”) of the EU tyre label in rolling resistance, wet braking and exterior noise.
The UltraContact NXT will be available for tyre distributors in Europe this month of July.
“At Continental, security, performance and sustainability come hand in hand. With the UltraContact NXT, we fulfill our ambitious sustainability objectives. This development represents an important leap forward and demonstrates our technological leadership, as well as our firm’s commitment to sustainability and security”, affirms Ferdinand Hoyos, director of Continental’s EMEA Tyre Business Area. “With its impressive performances, the UltraContact NXT brings sustainability to the NXT level,” he added.
A function of the pneumatic dimension, the UltraContact NXT is manufactured with up to 65 per cent of renewable and recycled materials. Renewable materials represent up to 32 per cent, while the proportion of recyclable materials is 5 per cent. In addition, Continental has obtained up to 28 per cent of ISCC PLUS certified materials of biological origin, bio-recoverable and circular economy raw materials.
Renewable materials represent up to 32 per cent in the UltraContact NXT. This includes resins based on waste materials from the paper and wood industries. Used in tires, the resins allow very flexible compounds that improve the grip of the material. El Ultra Contact NXT contains silica from rice husk ashes. The rice husk is an agricultural residue that can be transformed into silica by means of a new process that consumes less energy. Like all tyres, natural rubber is a key material of the UltraContact NXT. It is still indispensable, because it guarantees the best pneumatic performance properties thanks to its high level of resistance and durability.
The logo CRM “Contains recycled materials” appearing on the sidewall of the tyre underlines the use of recycled materials in this tyre line. The ratio of recycled materials reaches 50 per cent. The tyre contains recycled rubber material, which comes from mechanically processed end-of-use tyres. In addition, Continental uses recycled steel in the UltraContact NXT.
The newly introduced innovative technology ContiRe.Tex has also been adopted for the UltraContact NXT. The high-performance polyester fibres that are used to reinforce the tyre casing come from recycling PET bottles, which otherwise would have ended up in incinerators or landfills. With the ContiRe.Textechnology, Continentalhas developed an alternative that is more energy efficient and respectful of the environment that allows it to recycle between nine and fifteen plastic bottles for each tyre, depending on its dimensions. Continental aspires to have its tyre production operations be totally circular by 2050 a, at the latest.
Sustainably certified and carbon-neutral materials include sustainable synthetic rubber and carbon black
For the UltraContact NXT, Continental uses up to 28 per cent of sustainable materials certified by ISCC PLUS. It is a sustainable synthetic rubber and carbon black manufactured from biological, bio recoverable and/or circular raw materials. The synthetic rubber is an ingredient that defines the performance of modern tyres for cars because its properties can be designed specifically for its application. Recovered carbon black is used in rubber compounds to optimise the stability, resistance and durability of the tires. The ISCC Pluscertification guarantees transparency and traceability in all supply chains, monitoring the origin and characteristics of raw materials, verification of compliance with sustainable criteria and certification of the resulting products.
Advance systematically towards greater sustainability
Continental works tirelessly to develop innovative technologies and sustainable products and services throughout its value chain, from the supply of materials to the recycling of tyres at the end of their useful life. By 2030, the manufacture of premium tyres is targeted to have more than 40 per cent of renewable and recycled content in all its new production tires. The UltraContact NXT is an important step to meet these ambitious sustainability objectives and become the most avant-garde tyre manufacturer as it establishes its programme for strategic Vision 2030.
