News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

The Alliance of Future Tires (AZuR) together with representatives from the press, the Federal Environment Agency, the DBU and the Ministry of the Environment visited the modern Michelin retreading plant in Homburg at the beginning of December. The plant retreads up to 620,000 truck and bus end-of-life tires every year. For AZuR network coordinator Christina Guth, the Michelin factory is proof that the "retreading of commercial vehicle tires is a promising, forward-looking concept that not only works economically, but also ecologically and socially."

A new report from the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) shows opportunities to expand end-use tire markets and improve tire recycling rates to keep pace with annual scrap tire generation. The 15th 2021 Scrap Tire Management Report found that markets consumed 71 percent of annually generated scrap tires in 2021, down from about 76 percent reported in 2019. This decrease is due primarily to a nearly 13 percent increase in scrap tire generation, while markets to consume them increased by six percent. However, even with this small reduction, scrap tires outperform metal, glass, aluminum, plastic and paper recycling rates. Only automotive batteries and corrugated cardboard have a higher recycling rate.

Ralf Bohle GmbH (Schwalbe brand) is the first bicycle tire manufacturer in the world to take responsibility and take back and recycle used bicycle tires - turning used tires into new ones. According to the latest Schwalbe LinkedIn post, a German bicycle dealer Ingo Ruhland collected end-of-life bicycle tires in the basement below his bike store in Freising for 23 years, hoping that the tires could eventually be recycled instead of incinerated. So he waited for more than 20 years until a sustainable solution was found.

Alliance for Tires of the Future (German "Allianz Zukunft Reifen or AZuR) invites fleet operators to take part in AZuR’s survey. Retreaded tires are the perfect solution for fleet operators who want to reduce the operating costs of their fleet (commercial vehicles/cars) and minimize their ecological footprint. In an AZuR survey by the end of February 2023, it will be determined how fleet operators assess and use retreaded tires and how the retread rate could be increased.

Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) – Australian end-of-life tire recycling and management authority – invites you to have a listen to ‘Helixtapping the Industry’ podcast, where TSA’s Science & Innovation Advisor, Dr Linda Mitchell, PhD discusses the rubber market and circular economy for end-of-life tires, the factors affecting rubber prices, sustainability, and their hopes for the future of the rubber industry, alongside fellow International Rubber Study Group (IRSG) leaders. ‘Helixtapping the Industry’ podcast is a monthly overview and forecast of the rubber industry and greater commodities space created by Helixtap Technologies, the pioneers of groundbreaking, AI-driven price and market intelligence for the rubber industry.

According to the latest Tyre Stewardship Australia’s press release, The Northern Territory (NT) government has announced its 2nd round of funding for the NT recycling modernization fund. The Federal and NT Government are co-investing $2.3 million to increase the Northern Territory’s capacity to recycle and repurpose glass, paper, carboard, plastics and end of life tires, allowing the creation of new value-added products. Under this fund, grants of at least $20,00 are available on a 50:50 co-contribution basis.

British Columbia's ocean cleanup workers, as they’re deconstructing what they are calling "tire island", are trying to determine how more than 2,000 end-of-life tires ended up on a remote Nelson Island (the Sunshine Coast of Canada) and why they were kept there for decades. They were discovered by an environmental project that was looking for areas that needed to be cleaned up, yet no one knows how they got to the island. The Ocean Legacy Foundation with Let's Talk Trash, Tire Stewardship BC, and Liberty Tire Recycling joined together to remove the tires from the island.

Bandvulc, the UK's renowned commercial retreader and now a part of the Continental Tire Group, has been recognised at this year’s Western Morning News Business Awards after being selected as a finalist for the Environmental and Sustainability Award. A finalist’s trophy was presented to the team during an exclusive awards ceremony in Exeter, which recognises innovative businesses from across Devon and Cornwall. To be in with a chance of winning the Environmental and Sustainability Award, judges sought out companies that were working to achieve an environmentally conscious operation. The businesses also needed to demonstrate that it had steps in place to reduce carbon emissions, implement sustainable working and maximise energy efficiency.

CM Shredders is known for designing and manufacturing some of the world’s most advanced industrial shredders and recycling systems. Headquartered for over 40 years in sunny Sarasota, Florida, USA, the company recently announced the successful commissioning of a new stand-alone version of the company’s popular Zero Waste Tire Wire Cleaning System. Sitting a few hours outside of Madrid, Spain, the EMRO tire recycling facility has been processing high volumes of tires for over 20 years. For the entirety of that time, CM Primary Shredders and Liberators have been the pride of EMRO’s stable, with those original workhorses still running in production.