EC director pledges support for under-pressure tire & rubber recyclers

Brussels – European Commission (EC) director for environment and circular economy Aurel Ciobanu-Dordea has pledged support for the EU's under-pressure tire & rubber recycling sector.

The support – promised at a conference organised by European recycling industries body EuRIC – included measures to "compensate for" EU restrictions on the use of recycled tire rubber as infill in playing pitches.

EuRIC's report on the 15 April event did not include details about the proposed 'compensation' but did note Ciobanu-Dordea's support for industry efforts aimed at keeping waste tires in Europe and preventing their incineration.

Industry speakers at the Brussels event emphasised the “significant untapped potential” for tire circularity, calling for improved eco-design of tires and mandatory recycled content targets either in new tires or other applications.

They also stressed that chemical legislation for recycled tire materials to be “based on risk assessment rather than the precautionary principle, all fostered by harmonised EU-wide end-of-waste criteria.”

The conference also heard calls for collaboration between industry and policymakers in tackle the economic uncertainties facing the recycling sector.

Such collaboration was needed to address “the ill-suited overregulation that currently undermines the industries’ sustainability efforts and the EU’s circular economy goals.”

“There will be no long-term investment in tire recycling if there are no stable market applications for the recycled materials afterwards,” said Poul Steen Rasmussen, president of EuRIC’s mechanical tires recycling branch.

Also speaking at the event, Adam McCarthy, secretary general of the European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA), highlighted the industry’s commitment to sustainability.

Regarding mandatory recycled content targets for tires, McCarthy suggested that such measures should be evaluated in light of the market’s preparedness.

The first panel discussion on ‘circularity essentials’ highlighted that the technology to increase recycled rubber from tires in many different products, including automotive, is available.

However, participants noted that “overly complex regulation” delays the time-to-market for such products.

Additionally, they stressed the need for “a mindset change”: recycled materials are not cheap and required both money and time to develop new applications.

Furthermore, the speakers warned that without market security, such as recycled content mandates to secure long-term investment returns, progress would be “impossible”.

The second panel discussion highlighted chemical recycling within the industry.

Here, speakers stressed the importance of developing new markets for mechanically recycled rubber and complementary technologies, such as recovered/recycled carbon black and devulcanised rubber.

These, they pointed out, are “key to increasing tire circularity and preventing half of the tires collected in EU from being sent for incineration.”