Europe achieves 95% tyre recovery rate

Europe – The proportion of end-of-life tyres (ELTs) recycled or used for energy generation in Europe remained at around 95% last year, according to the latest annual figures from the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’€™ Association (ETRMA). At the same time, there was a 3% increase in the number of scrap tyres generated when making the comparison with 2010.
In 2011, close to 3.3 million tonnes of used tyres were managed in an environmentally sound manner in Europe. After taking out those tyres going for reuse or retreading, most of the remaining stream went into a variety of recycling, public works or civil engineering applications (material recovery) or were used as a fuel substitute in cement kilns, boilers and power plants (energy recovery).
Last year saw an increase in material recovery (+0.5%) but a decrease in energy recovery (-2%). In the case of the former, granulation increased by 2% and reuse of ELTs for other purposes such as dock fenders and blasting mats by 47%. However, there was a 10% downturn in ELTs destined for civil engineering and public works applications as well as a 33% reduction in the use of ELTs in steel mills and foundries.
In terms of volume, the production of rubber granulate and powder is the main material recovery route (83%), followed by civil engineering and public works applications (14%), dock fenders and blasting mats (3%), and steel mills and foundries (0.4%). As regards energy recovery, the main user of ELT shreds or whole tyres remains the cement industry (92% by volume), followed by urban heating, power plants and boilers (7%), and pyrolysis (1%).