News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

CalRecycle – the California’s recycling and waste management authority – will hold a virtual workshop on June 9, 2021 to provide an overview of the 2020 California Waste Tire Market Report which is to be published in summer 2021. The virtual workshop will be held from <b>9:30-11:30 AM PDT</b> as a webinar. This virtual workshop will provide stakeholders an opportunity to discuss the market trends before the 2020 California Waste Tire Market Report is finalized in July 2021. To register for the webinar please click here.

Scandinavian Enviro Systems (Enviro) – a Swedish tire pyrolysis equipment designer and operator – and a global tire manufacturer Michelin have signed three definitive agreements that form the basis of the companies’ strategic partnership. The agreements regulate the terms for a jointly owned plant for the end-of-life tire pyrolysis in Chile, the terms and conditions for Michelin’s use of Enviro’s patented technology, and payment for this, and the terms and conditions for payment to Enviro for deliveries of technology and services to the jointly owned plant in Chile. Before the agreements can enter into force, they must be approved by Enviro’s owners at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). Notice of the EGM will be published separately.

The Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA) – a Canadian organization responsible for waste management regulations including end-of-life tire recycling, is consulting on Ontario Tire Stewardship’s (OTS) plan to return remaining Used Tires Program surplus funds to stewards. The plan was developed by Grant Thornton Limited, the court appointed OTS liquidator, as a Surplus Funds Addendum to the Used Tires Program Wind-Up Plan. The proposed addendum includes: • which tire classes are eligible to share in the surplus • a proposed methodology to allocate funds to stewards • a proposal to address the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks’ direction that the surplus funds returned to stewards be used to benefit consumers

In its press release from January 2021, Nokian Tyres reported that the company isn’t just focused on protecting drivers with its genuine tire manufacturing technology; Nokian also works relentlessly to help protect the world around us. One of the company’s ambitious goals is to introduce a concept tire using only renewable and recycled materials by the year 2025. Safety beyond the road – preserving the environment Known for its high safety characteristics as well as for inventing the world’s first winter tire in 1934, Nokian says that now more than ever, safety means more than the everyday journey on the road.

According to Global Rubber Markets, an online magazine devoted to virgin and recycled rubber, a tire processing plant is expected to be constructed in Scotland. The project, reportedly, is the first of its kind in the UK, and it is expected to solve Scotland’s end-of-life tire problem and create over 100 jobs for the local area. A notice of pre-application has been submitted to Renfrewshire council, informing planners of the intent to build a ground-breaking tire processing plant in Linwood (Renfrewshire), Scotland.

Researchers at the RMIT University in Australia have developed a new technology to manufacture concrete made from recycled rubber materials that is stronger and more durable than the traditional product. Recycled concrete aggregates made with ground tyre rubber and everything from coffee cups to building rubble offer huge environmental benefits, from reducing landfill and CO2 emissions, to saving natural resources and boosting the circular economy. Now researchers from RMIT have developed a new method for casting prefabricated concrete products made with rubber tyres and construction and demolition waste that are up to 35% stronger than traditional concrete. Professor Yufei Wu from the School of Engineering led the development of the Rubberized Concrete Processing Technology (RCP-Tech) and said it offered an efficient and inexpensive solution.

At the end of January 2021, The University at Buffalo revealed that its multidisciplinary research group was awarded quarter million U.S. dollars from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to assess and improve tire recycling in the state. In its article from January 28, the University at Buffalo stresses that tire dumps are a breeding ground for disease-bearing mosquitos and animals, and they cause significant air and water pollution if they catch on fire. To help address these issues, the university’s RENEW Institute will work on a multidisciplinary study of the tire recycling industry.

In response to the growing interest in tyre pyrolysis in the UK and beyond, the British Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) recently launched a sub-group of interested members to address a number of matters of common importance in the field of end-of-life tyre pyrolysis. The aim of the new group which will held its first scoping meeting in January 2021 is to consider pyrolysis in the context of the current regulatory environment as well as barriers and opportunities in the areas of product and market development.

On February 2, 2021, The Morrison and McGowan Governments in Western Australia announced $70 million in joint funding that is expected to drive a more than $174 million recycling boom in Western Australia. Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley, Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management Trevor Evans, and WA Minister for the Environment Stephen Dawson announced the funding under the Recycling Modernisation Fund (RMF) program. $20 million from the RMF and $15 million from the State Government will leverage investments across eight new projects processing approximately 140,000 tonnes of Western Australian plastic and tyre waste every year. The Western Australian Government remains committed to awarding $5 million in industrial zoned land in the future.