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In Episode 50, the Tyre Recycling Podcast brings an enlightening interview with Federico Dossena, the Managing Director of Ecopneus. The focus in this episode revolves around the potential ban on microplastics and its implications for the Italian market. Join the speakers as they delve into a thought-provoking discussion on the far-reaching consequences of such a ban, exploring the challenges and opportunities it presents to tyre recycling and sustainable practices.

Amid the latest news about the intention of the EU Commission to ban sales of rubber granulate as infill for artificial turf pitches as of 2031, Genan – one of the largest end-of-life tire recycling companies in the world – releases the Letter of Information and detailed Q&A where the company explains what is happening with rubber infill.

The European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC) gathered more than 100 participants, from policymakers, recyclers and NGOs in Brussels on 18 April 2023 for its first conference dedicated to tire recycling. According to EuRIC’s press release, many speakers called for immediate actions. Poul Steen Rasmussen, President of EuRIC Mechanical Tire Recycling (MTR) and Group CEO of Genan, stressed in his opening remarks: “Tire recycling ticks many boxes, it saves critical resources that Europe would otherwise import, thus contributing to Europe’s strategic autonomy. It reduces the carbon and energy footprint and supports the EU’s ambition to carbon-neutrality. Yet, EU policy should do more to support tire recycling. To achieve the ambitious goals, set out in the Green Deal, it is essential that stakeholders from the entire tire value chain work closely together to solve sustainable problems and increase the use of recycled materials from tires in many different applications, including new tires!”.

European Commission asks the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to assess potential risks in playgrounds. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in synthetic turf infill materials will be reviewed for potential risks by ECHA. The European Commission (EC) ordered the agency to analyze any dangers to children in a letter dated January 6 to ECHA executive director Sharon McGuinness. The study's scope includes loose mulches and granulated PAHs used in playgrounds, gardens and landscaping. According to the EC, the assessment's goal is to determine if the respective applicable concentration limits for eight PAHs found in infill materials are effective.

Recycling companies warn that proposed EU regulations could result in the export of millions of tires for disposal or incineration. The European Recycling Industries' Confederation (EuRIC) charged that the European Commission's draft legislation, which would essentially ban the addition of rubber granules made from recycled tyres to AstroTurf sport fields, was in direct opposition to the Commission's own circular economy agenda.

Episode 39 of the Tyre Recycling Podcast run by Ewan Scott – chief editor of Tyre and Rubber Recycling magazine – is devoted to the EU's proposed ban on crumb rubber in synthetic turf fields. The guest of the Podcast is Poul Steen Rasmussen, Chair of the Mechanical Tyre Recovery Group at EuRIC. In this podcast, Poul Steen Rasmussen tells about the proposed ban and what it means for the tyre recycling sector and the environment.

An online magazine sportsfields.info focused on technology and business aspects of synthetic turf fields recently published an article criticising EU's decision to ban crumb rubber infill in artificial turf. Indeed, this month's announcement by the European Commission that it will recommend a ban on the sale of polymeric infill within six years and ignore the difference so-called risk management measures can make, has been met with disbelief and outright anger by some organisations in the industry.

Every year, approximately 150 million tires are processed for recycling in Europe. This rubber from recycled tires has several useful applications, including being a crucial component of the artificial turf used in playgrounds, football fields, and road construction. The European Recycling Industries Federation (EuRIC), the Spanish Federation for Recovery and Recycling (FER), and the Collective Management System for End-of-Life Tyres in Spain (SIGNUS) have all issued statements warning of the significant consequences of the European Commission's proposal to ban the use of rubber crumb, a byproduct of tyres that have reached the end of their useful lives, on artificial turf fields without taking into account alternative, equally effective policies with less negative environmental effects.

It its latest press release, the European Tyre Recycling Association (ETRA) stated that after 77 years of peace, humanity experiencing the tragedy of a war in Europe which is expected to be long, with all the tragic consequences connected to it: humanitarian, economic, environmental, political, etc. The cost of energy, which doubled already before the war, has now decupled posing serious concerns about energy availability and affordability and survival of many industries (Tyre Recyclers included) as well as families.