Page 61 from: What’s inside?

TYRES

61recyclinginternational.com | May/June | 2024

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

GreenTech Recycling Tires in
Billingsfors, Sweden to build a pyroly-
sis plant with a capacity of 20 000
tonnes of ELTs per year. Pyrum will

invest EUR 3 million in the venture,
which is expected to open its doors in
2027. This news follows similar part-
nerships between Pyrum and recyclers

ENVIRO PLANS NETWORK OF TYRE RECYCLING HUBS
Swedish Tyre Recycling (SDAB) is to deliver ELTs to a pyrolysis plant under construction in
Uddevalla, Sweden.
Not-for-profit SDAB has signed a contract with Scandinavian Enviro Systems and Antin
Infrastructure Partners who are building the facility. The partnership between involves pro-
viding a ‘significant’ proportion of the annual total of the ELTs collected in Sweden.
Feedstock will be delivered at the start of 2025 when the site becomes operational.
The new tyre recycling facility will rely on proprietary technology developed by Enviro. This
allows tyres to be sorted and processed into recovered Carbon Black (rCB) as well as pyroly-
sis oil.
‘We are pleased to have been trusted to deliver to this innovative plant being built in
Sweden, which maintains high standards for quality and delivery reliability,’ says SDAB ceo
Fredrik Ardefors. ‘We are investing significant resources into building this flagship industrial-
scale ELT recycling plant.’
The new facility north of Gothenburg is the first of many Scandinavian Enviro Systems plans
to build across Europe. It is said to represent ‘the highest standard of excellence’ towards
creating a more sustainable tyre recycling sector.

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