Turkey’s capital, Ankara, will get the biggest tire recycling plant in the state amid growth of demand for recycled rubber materials.

Turkey-based firm AKO Group is in charge of the facility’s operations and seeks to cut Turkey’s reliance on imported materials in strategic segments, Erkal Ozurun of AKO said. According to him, the new plant, anticipated to become operational in 2020, will be able to handle various scrap tire input, even truck tires and thick steel wire.

Ozurun also cited data saying the industry imports over 10,000 tons of recycled rubber products each year, and the new plant aims to cut the national deficit by some $16 million.

Each year, Turkey generates more than 300,000 tons of scrap tires. The new plant aims to get valuable rubber materials from a considerable part of that quantity. The materials will be used in manufacturing of both industrial products and consumer goods ranging from parts used in automotive industry to shoe soles.

The development comes amid the Turkish authorities’ zero-waste plan that seeks to substantially cut the level of unrecycled trash.

Article by ANEWS.