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The tire engineers and material experts of Continental are silently revolutionizing the industry by planning to use only sustainable materials for tire production by 2050. Although the journey is long, the gradual selection of raw materials has already begun to give shape to the future tire construction. The list includes agricultural waste, such as ash from rice husks, dandelion rubber, and recycled rubber or PET bottles. Claus Petschick, Head of Sustainability at Continental Tires, is clear about Continental’s mission, saying, “Continental is on the road toward becoming the most progressive manufacturer in the tire industry in terms of sustainability. We aim to use 100 percent sustainable materials in our tire products by 2050 at the latest.” He adds, “Our innovative power enables us to break new and even more sustainable ground. This encompasses everything from the origin and sourcing of our materials through to the reuse and recycling of our tires.”

According to a recent study, recycling used tires has less of an impact on the environment than using new materials to make the same items. In order to fulfill producer obligations under the Tire Regulation 225/18 and the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act (RRCEA) of Ontario, producers must receive services that help them reach the regulatory goal of collecting and recycling 100 percent of the used tires they sell into the market. This involves delivering them to processing facilities and confirming how they are transformed into new products for authorized usage as Tire Derived Products on the market (TDP). A TDP replaces the more traditional method of producing goods by using fresh, or "raw," resources. People anticipate that recycled tire products will be more environmentally friendly than the new materials they replace. The goal of the Scrap Tire Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), a study in which seven members of the Canadian Association of Tire Recycling Agencies voluntarily participated, was to quantify this expectation (CATRA). The study involved gathering and analyzing data from participating tire recycling companies utilizing information from 2017 to 2020.

Pyrolysis, an advanced chemical recycling route for End-of-Life Tires (ELT), is experiencing a boom in the last few years. As seen objectively, there is no one best design and/or process mode. Different options can be considered depending on the local circumstances and/or targeted product yields and qualities. While only a small portion of global ELT arisings (31 million tons per year) are currently finding their way to thermochemical decomposition, recent developments are showing strong signs of promising opportunities.

Regardless of meandering political environmental protection trends, most Western companies today are embracing Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) as a mandate that is integral to their corporate strategy and forms part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program. The automobile industry and its subset, the tire industry, is no exception. Consumer awareness represents pressure on corporate governance to continuously improve the environmental footprint throughout the life cycle of their products. Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) are one way of objectively quantifying and qualifying the effect that material and energy flows of a given product have on our environment, our health, our economies, and the way we live. LCAs also help design the products we and our customers manufacture, compare them to competitive solutions, and enhance their perception in the market. If performed properly, the investments that LCAs require can therefore ultimately translate into improved profit margins. This article examines the difficulties we encounter and gains we can realize when performing an LCA on an End Of Life Tire (ELT) derived product.