With an emphasis on recycling used tires, the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI) and the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) have partnered.

The newly established Rubber Crumb Project was agreed upon by both organizations, and the agreement was signed on the UTT Chaguanas campus. Three million tires on average are imported into Trinidad and Tobago each year, according to CARIRI. This project is projected to address environmental issues brought on by the pollution of around 1.5 million scrap tires across the nation because there are few options for disposing of or recycling tires currently accessible.

This two-year pilot plant will enable us to examine the commercial implications of utilizing end-of-life tires by turning them into crumb rubber for use in asphalt mix intended for road paving, rubber tiles, rubber matting, and other products. Therefore, this will enable us to utilize, to assess how successfully this waste product can now be utilized for the benefit of society, said Hans-Erich Schulz, chief executive officer of CARIRI.

By giving them the chance to interact with the production facilities required to transform the tyres into refined raw materials, engineering students at UTT are anticipated to gain something from this project. The business model that is anticipated to produce revenue and employment will also be accessible to business students.

It's sort of an application in the real world for something that probably hasn't been done before. And we want to collaborate with a university, in this case UTT, that has a facility on the South Campus to examine what practical uses can be made of this waste product, added Schulz.

Article by CARIRI.