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Episode 20 of the Tyre Recycling Podcast features Giovanni Corbetta, CEO of Italian end-of-life tire management organization Ecopneus. In the new episode, Ewan Scott and Giovanni Corbetta discuss the state of rubberised asphalt from end-of-life tyres in Italy. In this podcast with Ecopneus CEO Giovanni Corbetta, one can learn how Italy has certified the use of rubberised asphalt and how it is expecting a considerable increase in use, taking tyre recycling closer to that elusive circular economy.

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) reported in January 2021 about putting tire manufacturers on notice that California wants them to explore alternatives to using zinc, a toxic chemical that harms aquatic life and burdens waterways. Zinc helps make rubber stronger, but also wears off tire tread and washes into storm drains, streams, rivers and lakes, threatening California fish and other aquatic organisms. DTSC, the State’s department missioned to work toward safer California households, workplaces, and products, intends to use its innovative Safer Consumer Products (SCP) program to work with tire manufactirers to look for an alternative to this harmful chemical. The SCP program seeks to remove toxic chemicals from products before they’re sold to consumers. This is more efficient and effective than issuing bans later, and, in this case, helps stormwater agencies cost-effectively meet state and federal water-quality requirements.

The National Circular Economy Roadmap found innovation is crucial to realising Australia’s largest economic gains, which will come from designing new products and materials, including through advanced manufacturing, and in embracing new business models that will create domestic and export markets for waste streams. This could more than triple job creation from resource recovery in Australia, where the recycling sector currently generates 9.2 jobs per 10,000 tonnes of waste, compared with only 2.8 jobs for the same amount of waste sent to landfill.

Scandinavian Enviro Systems (Enviro) – a Swedish tire pyrolysis equipment designer and operator – and a global tire manufacturer Michelin have signed three definitive agreements that form the basis of the companies’ strategic partnership. The agreements regulate the terms for a jointly owned plant for the end-of-life tire pyrolysis in Chile, the terms and conditions for Michelin’s use of Enviro’s patented technology, and payment for this, and the terms and conditions for payment to Enviro for deliveries of technology and services to the jointly owned plant in Chile. Before the agreements can enter into force, they must be approved by Enviro’s owners at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). Notice of the EGM will be published separately.

According to Global Rubber Markets, an online magazine devoted to virgin and recycled rubber, a tire processing plant is expected to be constructed in Scotland. The project, reportedly, is the first of its kind in the UK, and it is expected to solve Scotland’s end-of-life tire problem and create over 100 jobs for the local area. A notice of pre-application has been submitted to Renfrewshire council, informing planners of the intent to build a ground-breaking tire processing plant in Linwood (Renfrewshire), Scotland.

Researchers at the RMIT University in Australia have developed a new technology to manufacture concrete made from recycled rubber materials that is stronger and more durable than the traditional product. Recycled concrete aggregates made with ground tyre rubber and everything from coffee cups to building rubble offer huge environmental benefits, from reducing landfill and CO2 emissions, to saving natural resources and boosting the circular economy. Now researchers from RMIT have developed a new method for casting prefabricated concrete products made with rubber tyres and construction and demolition waste that are up to 35% stronger than traditional concrete. Professor Yufei Wu from the School of Engineering led the development of the Rubberized Concrete Processing Technology (RCP-Tech) and said it offered an efficient and inexpensive solution.

In Kuwait, the Salmi tire stockpile is referred to as a constant source of fires and air pollution. As part of efforts to reduce and promote the end-of-life tire recycling in Kuwait, the Green Rubber Recycling company, which was established in 2013, creates a variety of products which utilize recycled tire rubber. Kuwait Times recently published an article about the Green Rubber Recycling highlighting company’s achievements. “Located in Amghara area, about 30 kilometers from Kuwait City, the tire recycling factory makes 100% recycled rubber tiling in brick or tile format for all types of locations including children’s play places, gyms, sports arenas as well as filling for gardens, farms and elsewhere,” the magazine writes.

The parties plan to complete the DFS by the end of June 2021 and anticipate the project being financed before the end of 2021, with construction taking place in 2022 and operations starting in 2023. It’s envisioned that with Klean’s intellectual property and know-how for the processing of scrap tires and its ability to apply its proven portfolio of IP on a global basis, starting with an operating tire recycling facility in Greece will shorten the project development cycle. This project is expected to transform end-of-life tires into high quality, valuable raw materials primarily a high grade recovered carbon black (“rCB”) and recovered fuel oil or what is known as pyrolysis oil akin to an MDO oil. This plant will be fully integrated with Klean’s proprietary tire char upgrading system that enables the economic conversion of low-value tire char into high-value carbon black replacements which can replace virgin Carbon Black by volumes of 10% up to 100% depending on the specific application. Klean estimates that the carbon emission offsets from the Pyrolysis Hellas facility will be in excess of 100,000 metric tons annually.

Klean Industries Inc., a cleantech company specialized in the conversion of waste into energy and recovered resources, announced in mid-January 2021 that they have been nominated for an award in the Business Innovation category of the first edition of The Recircle Awards. As a technology pioneer, Klean say they recognize the challenges of creating, financing and successfully deploying innovative technologies that reduce the consumption of virgin resources and recovery of valuable materials and energy from end-of-life tires. As one of the pioneers in the advanced thermal treatment of scrap tires, waste plastic and municipal solid waste, Klean continues to advance its technology offering for its customers and new clients alike with the rollout of the KleanLoop™ Blockchain DApp and its Distributed Ledger Technology (“DLT”).