News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

Liberty Tire Recycling, a big tire recycling company headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, United States has presented a new dry-mix rubber additive labelled SmartMIX that can boost asphalt paving. The producer claims it can result in longer asphalt service and, durability and crack resistance. The product fully relies on scrap tires and does not require liquid modifiers. According to the manufacturer, all necessary tests have been already conducted to prove the quality of the product and start commercializing it.

ShredderTire claims that its rooftop assembly and blocks that are produced under the label Echo-System significantly alter the industry as they can substitute lumber blocking. The company says that their products, Echo Blocks, are more environment-friendly as they rely on recycled scrap tires. The products made from recycled tires compete with wood and can be installed much faster and easier, according to ShreddedTire.

Peru has presented a sustainable female fashion shoe brand that relies on recycled end-of-life tire rubber. The company is called EstoyEco (“I’m Eco” in English). Jesselyn Campomanes, CEO and co-founder of EstoyEco commented on the process of shoe making saying that scrap tires are treated during 2 phases – these moves are needed to make soles of the footwear. She noted that normally recyclers deliver scrap tires to the brand’s facility where the end-of-life materials are selected and washed. Tires also undergo process of cutting and tread separation and then plates of shoe soles are manufactured.

Spain has taken a step to get rid of scrap tires from beaches as part of the Libera Project. The measure united well-known brands and corporations such as Pirelli Tires, Michelin, Goodyear and others; they joined Signus – Spanish scrap tire management authority – and the Network of Marine Rangers to advance the program labeled “1 Square Metre by Nature”. All parties involved in the initiative sought an aim to effectively remove and manage waste tires so they could be reused.

Prospective attendees are invited to register for European Tyre Recycling Association’s (ETRA) Conference that is set to take place at the NH Collection, Grand Sablon in Brussels. The conference is an annual three-day event that will take place for the 27th time. It will see plenary sessions and discussions paying special focus on pyrolysis and the future of it. The speakers will share their reports on how markets for recycled tire products will be expanded. Attendees will learn which recycled rubber products may see the greatest demand in the new decade.

Critics of the grant programs launched by New Zealand authorities over the decade expressed their opinion that the funded measures failed to achieve outstanding results and was moving not fast enough. Some $20 million have been provided earlier to fight scrap tire issue in the state by the Government's Waste Minimisation Fund. However, tire clearance efforts are taking place too slow. The new group Accountability Action responsible for clearance of North Canterbury stockpile has also been accused of lack of progress.

A small Nile Delta village of Mit al-Harun in Egypt, located in some 70 kilometers north of Cairo, is known in the country as the most popular tire rubber recycling hub. Generations that are living here have learned how to manually recycle waste tires that are often seen dumped on the roadsides. People here wake up early morning and use sharpened knifes as they cut massive scrap tires that are further used as materials for surfacing projects, or as green fuel. In 2016, CCTV Africa paid a visit to Mit al-Harun’s tire recycling workshops.

The Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) has issued a warning to vehicle dismantlers and tire retailers in the UK that recovery costs may significantly go up, and even double in the nearest time. The changes may take place within weeks. The price increase is likely to target European states and South East Asian countries. The increase of costs can be influenced by steps taken by environmental authorities in India – they have been introducing more strict laws aimed at end-of-life tire recycling and other waste recovery practices that take place in unsanctioned premises.

Before finding his passion in tire recycling and producing art pieces from end-of-life tires, Abdel Ghafour worked 4 years in the telecommunication sector. Driven by passion of making art and desire to contribute to the society, he started searching for opportunities in tire recycling. In Mireleft, a small city in the south of Morocco, Mr. Ghafour learned how to cut and process end-of-life tires to reuse the materials. in Sometime later, in January 2019, Abdel Ghafour started making original shapes as an artist in his workshop in Agadir, Morocco.