In the beginning of February, a tire pyrolysis plant of Kargro / Dutch Green Carbon in Nederweert, Netherlands, suffered from fire. No one from the company’s personnel, nor from the residential area adjacent to the plant was injured. The fire department has taken control of the fire and has stated that no increased quantities of dangerous materials have been released.

Dutch government described its reaction in a letter, asserting that “Kargro demands stricter regulation, just like the entire recycling industry.”

Hans van Wageningen and Martin van Montfort from D66 Limburg and D66 Nederweert said:

“The most important thing is that the company itself is responsible for the fire and the attendant nuisance, environmental damage and economic damage caused by the fire. It is true that Kargro has used too gullible and long-suffering action from the province of Limburg. The most important thing is that the province no longer permits a recycling company to experiment with business processes outside the permit. This was the case with Kargro and the company now has to be shut down immediately.”

Jan Driessen and Martijn Lopes Cardozo of Dutch Green Carbon are relieved that no injuries have occurred to the personnel or residents. They pinpointed that their biggest concern had been the safety of their employees and the neighborhood. Dutch Green Carbon is a collaboration of tire recycler Kargro Group and technology company Black Bear. According to the statement by Black Bear, the production crew has immediately notified the fire department about the incident.

The cause of the fire remains unclear. Lopes Cardozo says the crew is now thoroughly investigating what has caused the fire. Dutch Green Carbon produces high quality recovered carbon black, a raw material used in rubber, paint and inks, from end-of-life tires. In January Black Bear was selected to the Global Cleantech top 100 as the only Netherlands based company on this list of most sustainable companies worldwide.

Article by Black Bear Carbon.