Search Results

Robert Weibold – the founder a tyre recycling and pyrolysis consulting company Weibold – was interviewed by the Rubber Review magazine this February. Below, we cite Issue 33 of the Rubber Review magazine (February 16-22) featuring the interview.

Serbia took a significant step toward sustainable tire recycling and circular economy practices with the establishment of its first bilateral ecosystem dedicated to implementing the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) model in the tire sector. The initiative was formalized at the Future-Proof Industry: Innovation, Partnerships and Sustainable Growth conference, held at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS). During the event, representatives of Confindustria Serbia, Italian sustainability company Innovando, and PKS signed a Memorandum of Understanding, marking the official launch of the Serbian–Italian EPR ecosystem for tires.

As reported by the European Rubber Journal (ERJ) this January, an Irish materials technology start-up said it had made significant progress in chemical tire recycling, unveiling a process capable of recovering up to 98 percent of materials from end-of-life tires, including rubber, recovered carbon black, steel, and textile fibers.

While resource circulation has advanced for materials such as steel and plastic, rubber remains difficult to recycle, and waste rubber is usually incinerated for thermal energy recovery. Recycling rubber requires devulcanization, a process in which heat and pressure break the sulfur bonds that give rubber its elasticity. However, this process also breaks other chemical bonds, resulting in reduced strength and leaving behind characteristic odors—long-standing challenges in rubber recycling.

In Episode 83, Scott Gerber, Program Director of the Better Play Initiative (BPI), discusses the organisation’s work on the safe and sustainable use of recycled rubber in sports and playground surfaces. He outlines key findings from independent and government studies, including research from the EPA and CalEPA, which have not identified significant health risks associated with crumb rubber infill.

Jon Visaisouk, CEO of Tyromer, appeared on Episode 79 of The Tyre Recycling Podcast, recorded live at the Round Trip Tyre and Conveyor Belt Recycling Summit in Melbourne. Tyromer employs a proprietary devulcanization process to convert crumb rubber into high-value material for new rubber manufacturing. During the interview, Visaisouk discussed the company's transition following the passing of founder Sam Visaisouk, operational progress at Tyromer's European facility in Arnhem, Netherlands, and increasing adoption of devulcanized rubber products, particularly from Tyromer India's production operations.

Cveta Majtanovic, Chief Sustainability Officer of Rubber Conversion Srl, a Verona-based company specializing in end-of-life rubber recycling, has been selected for the 2025 Meaningful Business 100 (MB100). The global award program recognizes leaders combining business profitability with social and environmental impact.

The Allianz Zukunft Reifen (AZuR) will enter its next phase in 2026, aiming to expand collaboration across the tire recycling value chain and further advance the tire circular economy in Germany and Europe. Since its creation, the initiative has promoted sustainable solutions including repair, retreading, regrooving, and both mechanical and chemical recycling of end-of-life tires.

Prism Worldwide, a clean-tech company that transforms end-of-life tire rubber and plastic waste into high-performance circular polymers, announced a trio of groundbreaking innovations poised to transform the recycling and sustainable materials industries. The company has made key advancements in odor reduction, sustainable thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPV) development, and high-content Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) reuse, three challenges long considered barriers to wider adoption of recycled materials in consumer and industrial products.