Search Results

The Alliance of Future Tires (AZuR) is continuing to drive cooperation in the field of end-of-life tire recycling. Since 2020, the AZuR network has been working to make tire disposal more cost-effective and environmentally friendly. For ten months, the network was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), and since June 2021, it has been self-funded under the auspices of the WDK. There are currently 43 diversified partners in the network.

According to Bandvulc’s latest information, their newly introduced zero-to-landfill policy ensures that no production waste goes to landfill and, as a result, 100% of the company’s waste is recycled. Even rubber dust buffed off during the preparation process is recycled back into new tires.

The machinery of the Italian tire recycling equipment supplier Salvadori will be used to ensure operations of tire downsizing, and recycling of about 30,000 tons of earthmover tires per year. The Michelin Group selected Salvadori Srl as the supplier for the downsizing system. This new-generation tire recycling plant is to be built in Chile; currently it is under construction in collaboration with Enviro, a Swedish company that has developed a patented technology for recycling tires into recover carbon black, oil, steel and gas using pyrolysis method. The plant will be based in Chile’s Antofagasta region. Salvadori's tire recycling technology will be used specifically to reduce the tire into pieces of predetermined dimensions which will then be further processed in the factory.

German authorities have endorsed a tire retreading initiative from the Innovation Forum for Tire Recycling (AZUR) that is expected to commence soon. The organizers say that the program will last for two years. According to AZUR, the majority of funding (70 percent) will be provided by the DBU (German Federal Environment Foundation). All other costs needed for the program’s implementation are expected come from several crucial partners that include Marangoni Retreading Systems, Reifen Hinghaus GmbH, Kraiburg Austria and others. The expected program will assess the life cycle of retreaded end-of-life tires and rolling resistance measurements. The organizers of the new initiative are hopeful that it will help to promote the idea that retreaded tires are the perfect examples of sustainable products, and people’s attitude towards their use will become more positive as a result.

Former Bridgestone plant in French city of Béthune will collect, sort and retread passenger car tires. The agreement on this has been reached by a French retreading specialist Black-Star with the car maintenance company Mobivia with the help of Bridgestone. An integrated tire recycling ecosystem that relies on the circular economy and gives scrap tires a second life will be developed on a special industrial site with the support of iWip subsidiary. Mobivia will provide its auto centers for tire collection. From there, scrap tires will be transported and retreaded. The recycling process will help save up to 80 percent of the original material used in tire production. Each tire will be recycled into 9 kg of rubber and steel.

The innovation forum "Scrap Tire Recycling" (AZuR) sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany recently published a large-scale study for its partners. The study is focused on the market positions and requirements of end-of-life tire recyclers and manufacturers of products from recycled tire rubber. Below, we are citing the original article published on the website of AZuR in May 2021. To read the original text in German, please proceed to AZuR’s website.

In the recently held Recircle Awards – the globally-facing industry award event recognizing sustainable innovation, production processes, management and services within the tire retreading and recycling sectors – a U.S. based manufacturer of tire recycling machinery outperformed European its competitors for international awards program that recognizes excellence in tire recycling. ECO Green Equipment develops advanced eco-friendly and cost-efficient turnkey tire recycling systems. They recently garnered international attention for sweeping the Best Tyre Recycling Industry Supplier Award at the global Recircle Awards. The company develops both stand-alone machinery and integrated equipment to turn end-of-life tires into valuable aftermarket products. Their tire shredders and grinders can convert tire rubber into fine rubber powder for innovative high-end products, playground surfaces, athletic fields, landscaping mulch, automotive parts and tire-derived fuel.

In total, over 9,000 votes were cast across the 18 awards categories that were open to the public vote, with significant engagement in the voting process being received from all corners of the globe. David Wilson, Managing Director of Valebridge Media Services, commented; “We were delighted to see such a high level of international participation in this first edition of the Recircle Awards, and we’d like to thank the readers of Retreading Business and Tyre & Rubber Recycling for helping to make this project into a such a globally inclusive event.”

Kal Tire – international OTR and mining tire manufacturer was recently nominated for the Recircle Awards in the category “Best Retreading Industry Innovation” for its Carbon Calculator / Maple Program launched in 2020. Kal Tire’s Carbon Calculator quantifies environmental savings when retreading OTR and mining tires that reached their end-of-life stage. The Maple Program uses data from Kal Tire’s new carbon calculator to award customers with one to five stars according to the percentage of their fleet running retreads rather than new tires. The program is first launching in Chile and the UK, with plans to roll out in other regions Kal Tire operates.