News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

Episode 37 of the Tyre Recycling Podcast run by Ewan Scott – chief editor of Tyre and Rubber Recycling Magazine – is devoted to tire pyrolysis. The guest is the CEO of Poland-based Contec, Krzysztof Wróblewski. In the new Episode, Ewan Scott quizzed Krzysztof on all things Contec from their plans for business development to supply chain difficulties to even what type of input material they process whether it be full tyres or shredded tyres.

EuRIC – a European organization connecting recyclers with European policy makers – warns the dramatic increase in energy prices pose a substantial challenge to the European recycling industries. Major European recycling companies, including SMEs, have already significantly reduced or entirely suspended production. In these exceptional circumstances, the sector is urging policymakers to enact immediate financial aid to prevent significant long-term damage to European recycling.

Alliance for Tires of the Future (German "Allianz Zukunft Reifen or AZuR) and its network coordinator Christina Guth have set themselves the goal of no less than a tenfold increase in car tire retreads and an increase in truck tire retreads of over 40 percent over the next five years.

An online magazine sportsfields.info focused on technology and business aspects of synthetic turf fields recently published an article criticising EU's decision to ban crumb rubber infill in artificial turf. Indeed, this month's announcement by the European Commission that it will recommend a ban on the sale of polymeric infill within six years and ignore the difference so-called risk management measures can make, has been met with disbelief and outright anger by some organisations in the industry.

Tyre and Road Wear Particles (TRWP) are tiny debris which are formed during normal driving conditions from the friction between the tyre and the road necessary to ensure sufficient grip and safety. Because of their size and composition, these particles are commonly associated with microplastics; yet the generation of TRWP is influenced by a variety of external factors including, but not limited to, tyre design, such as vehicle characteristics, road surface, weather, road topology and driving behaviour.

One of the first tire manufacturers in China to start recycling, reusing, and repurposing tires is ZC Rubber. In order to perform rubber recycling and reuse tires, the company created its Recycling Technology and Service Center in 2005, which marked the beginning of its tire recycling adventure. To forward their goals for tire recycling, ZC Rubber formally created Zhongce Recycling Technology Co., Ltd in 2009.

CTS Tyre Recycling from Western Australia has marked the beginning of a major change towards sustainability in the company's history. CTS had a great turn out at its ground breaking ceremony the 12th August with State Environment Minister Reece Whitby MLA and federal MP Josh Wilson in attendance.

Enviro – a Swedish tire pyrolysis operator and equipment supplier – report they are currently in an intense phase of scaling up the industrialisation of its tire pyrolysis technology. The company’s expansion plan is gradually being implemented, with the aim of establishing recycling capacity of a total of 900,000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres by 2030.

With an emphasis on recycling used tires, the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI) and the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) have partnered. The newly established Rubber Crumb Project was agreed upon by both organizations, and the agreement was signed on the UTT Chaguanas campus. Three million tires on average are imported into Trinidad and Tobago each year, according to CARIRI. This project is projected to address environmental issues brought on by the pollution of around 1.5 million scrap tires across the nation because there are few options for disposing of or recycling tires currently accessible.