Pirelli North America has launched its first closed-loop tyre recycling initiative within the global group, marking a significant step in the company’s strategy to increase the use of recycled and bio-based materials.
The initiative recovers scrap tyres generated at Pirelli’s North American manufacturing operations and processes them through Bolder Industries’ pyrolysis technology. The resulting recovered carbon black (rCB) is then reintroduced into Pirelli’s tyre production in North America, partially replacing virgin carbon black while supporting more efficient use of raw materials.
More to come
Pirelli says the programme is part of a circular strategy that will be expanded to additional manufacturing facilities, converting production waste into recovered materials for reuse across the company’s global production network.
‘This initiative reflects an approach focused on increasing the use of recovered materials within existing production processes,‘ says Claudio Zanardo, ceo of Pirelli North America. ‘It is part of a broader effort to gradually integrate raw materials derived from recycled resources into our products while maintaining consistency in performance and quality.’
Tyre-to-tyre
Tony Wibbeler, ceo of Bolder Industries, adds: ‘Our collaboration demonstrates that a traceable, mass-balance approach to tyre-to-tyre circularity is not only achievable, but it’s ready to scale inside a premium manufacturing environment, meeting real performance and certification requirements at every step. This is the kind of progress the industry has been working toward for many years.’
More than 80%
Pirelli wants to increase the use of recycled and bio-based material content across its product range. By 2030, the company’s ‘best-performing products’ are to contain more than 80% bio-based and recycled materials, while targeting 40% across its total tyre production.
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