Australian Tyrecycle and Alcoa Australia have entered into a new agreement aimed at recycling used mining truck tyres.

This week, Tyrecycle's recycling facility in East Rockingham, located 40 kilometers south of Perth, received its first delivery of off-the-road (OTR) tyres from Alcoa’s mining operations.

“The collaboration with Alcoa represents our first formal agreement with a mining operator from the South West of Western Australia to recycle OTR tyres. This is an important step for both the mining and recycling sectors in the country,” said Tyrecycle Chief Executive Officer, Jim Fairweather.

The large 57-inch tyres, sourced from Alcoa’s bauxite mines in the Peel and South West regions, will be processed into crumb rubber. This material is commonly used in sustainable road surfaces and soft-surface applications such as playgrounds and athletics tracks.

“Each tonne of crumb rubber used in asphalt contributes to a reduction of approximately 2463 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-e). Ensuring that these mining tyres are recycled, rather than being disposed of in landfills, offers a positive outcome for both stakeholders and the environment,” Fairweather added.

Alcoa's Global Program Manager for Water and Waste, Nicole King, emphasized the importance of quality processes and sustainability in the partnership.

“We sought to ensure that our end-of-life OTR tyres were managed in a way that aligned with our waste management objectives. We are working toward a global target of reducing landfilled waste by 25 percent by 2030, based on a 2015 baseline. Recycling OTR tyres from our WA mining operations will help us move closer to achieving this goal,” King said. Looking ahead, Tyrecycle is planning to expand its capacity for recycling mining tyres. The company is finalizing the construction of a new OTR tyre recycling facility in Port Hedland, expected to process up to 12,000 tonnes annually. Operations at the new plant are scheduled to begin in November 2024.

“Our recycling capabilities in Western Australia have grown significantly over the past year, and we expect further expansion. The Port Hedland facility will be Australia’s first dedicated OTR tyre recycling plant, improving the economic feasibility of sustainably managing these end-of-life tyres,” said Fairweather.

For further details, visit www.tyrecycle.com.au.

Original and full article – courtesy of Waste Management Review and Tyrecycle.