60
in tyre recycling if there are no stable
market applications for the recycled
materials afterwards.’
He also urged policymakers to priori-
tise product eco-design, ensuring both
tyre safety and recyclability.
Fellow speaker Adam McCarthy, sec-
retary general of European Tyre &
Rubber Manufacturer Association
(ETRMA), emphasised the intricate
nature of tyres and stressed the impor-
tance of tyre safety throughout their
lifespan. He also affirmed producer
commitment to sustainability in a ‘very
broad context’.
Regarding mandatory recycled con-
tent targets for tyres, McCarthy sug-
gested that such measures had to be
evaluated in light of the market’s read-
iness. ‘We urge European policymak-
ers to join us in setting an agenda for
a competitive Europe that delivers on
both the digital and green transition,’
he said. ‘They can encourage invest-
ment through consistent and propor-
tionate future regulation.’
ETRMA represents 4 400 companies
operating 93 tyre production plants
and 17 R&D tyre-related centres
across Europe. McCarthy noted that
European re-treading activities employ
30 000 people, operated mostly in
small and medium-sized businesses.
He said they had taken ‘serious steps’
to reduce waste while boosting the
use of secondary raw materials and
replaced materials that may challenge
the recycling of ELTs ‘where technically
possible’.
BEST TECHNOLOGY?
The EuRIC panel discussion concluded
that the technology to increase the
use of recycled rubber from tyres in
new products, including automotive, is
already available. But, again, overly
complex regulations were delaying
such products being put onto the mar-
ket.
Speakers agreed that chemical recy-
cling should be viewed as a ‘last resort
solution’. They said it was better to
develop new markets for mechanically
recycled rubber and complementary
technologies, such as recovered/recy-
cled carbon black and devulcanised
rubber.
A recent development regarding
chemical treatment is a contract that
Pyrum Innovations has signed with
Speakers at the EuRIC tyre recycling conference were vocal about the ‘ill-suited over-
regulation’ the sector is facing.
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