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Australian state of Victoria is now testing an innovative sustainable drainage technology for rubberized concrete called Equine Air after it was installed last summer at Pakenham Racecourse as a replacement to conventional road base. Equine Air is considered to be capable of improving track drainage and can be used even during bad weather. Moreover, when it is used in horse racing fields, it is said to be able to reduce the animals’ injuries when they fall thanks to special cushioned foundation.

According to Evonik, it is possible to get valuable products out of recycled tires, thus, it is not correct to treat tires as waste. The business also states that by providing old tires with second life in road projects, they get rid of disposal issue and prevent burning of tires. Additionally, Evonik manufactures products for surfacing roads using mix of processed plastics. The tests and monitoring procedures will be ongoing, however, the authorities now believe that the plastic and rubber roads that contain recycled materials such as tires will prove to be more durable and better in comparison to the conventional asphalt, as the latter has a high CO2 footprint.

In tire recycling, one can create different types of output depending on production technology. From each output type, several applications can be produced, hence different industries and markets can be targeted. Currently, there is a wide range of products that can be developed via tire recycling. However, to significantly increase profits, R&D activities prove to be an integral part of tire recycling. Success of products on the market largely depends on the regions where they are sold.

Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) has found in its recent study that Australia annually deals with over 55 million waste tires, with 30 percent of the amount being heavy truck and mining tires. One of sustainable methods to extend life of the precious material is recycling after which rubber can be used in municipal paving projects. Some of the country’s roads are already composed of asphalt mixes and rubber powder spray-seals that contain recycled rubber; their usage is being promoted by the TSA and the industry. In addition, TSA helps create rubberized permeable pavements, which result in promotion of more advanced methods to manage complex water systems in urban areas.

On the 6th of February, American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) announced opening a committee which will develop standards for the recovered carbon black (rCB). The goal of the ASTM’s new committee D36 will be to establish and update standards in end-of-life tire (ELT) and scrap rubber decomposition, standards in material characteristics and sustainability. ASTM declared that the committee will be formed and governed by the members of its existing committee on carbon black (D24) who engaged in working with a vast portfolio of standards on recycled carbon black goods.

Industry officials in India told Reuters that natural rubber output is expected to increase 15 percent during 2017-2018. This is expected to be the highest price in almost 4 years. Also, higher prices make farmers commence using trees abandoned before. Notwithstanding, natural rubber price rally appears to be bad news for tire manufacturers as it cuts down profits. And to stay afloat, the businesses may pass those hits on to customers.

This January, ferrous scrap prices rose up again. Last two month before the new year the price had been going up and January follows the same trend – the price has been bouncing back from a steep and unexpected drop that affected ferrous scrap in September and October of the last year.American Metal Market (AMM) indicates in their price surveys and indices that the most popular ferrous scrap grades’ prices appreciated from some USD 35 to USD 40 per ton in the beginning of January. In November 2016, Midwest Index prices appreciated up to USD 25 per ton and in December 2016 they went up to USD 45 per ton. In the beginning of 2017, export price climbed up less vigorously, according to the survey by AMM. Grades of heavy melting steel (HMS) purchased by brokers from overseas and foreign mill buyers increased by less than USD 12 per ton on the West Coast and by some USD 18 per ton on the East Coast.

Despite all announcements about rising prices for new tires, French used tire collection and management company Aliapur exhibits stability and succeeds on the tire recycling arena. According to a statement of the company, “eco-contribution” will remain the same for all tire categories. Thus, the levy remains to be EUR 1.25 for all passenger car tires which add up to some two thirds of the total annual volume of collection. Due to this decision, the levy will remain untouched and will be maintained at the level of the last two years. In fact, this means a persistent decline in contributions for over ten years. Aliapur reckons that this fact reflects the degree of efficiency of how tire recycling in France is structured. Albeit, Aliapur is ready for further optimization: namely in some areas between collection in skips and manual collection, as well as alternative means to recycle end-of-life tires.

Recently, University of Nottingham and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) carried out a research aimed at improving rheometry of crumb rubber. Davide Lo Presti, Senior Scientist and International research Project manager at University of Nottingham reports results in his article “Improving rheometry of crumb rubber modified bitumen: a testing geometry tailored for simultaneous low-shear mixing and measurements”.