Bridgestone aims for 100% tyre recycling among US stores, dealers

ERJ staff report (TB)

Washington DC - Bridgestone Americas is launching a One Team, One Planet Spent Tire Program designed to assure that for every tyre the company sells in the U.S., a removed used tyre will be recycled.

About 85 percent of used/scrapped tyres are recycled, according to the Rubber Manufacturers Association.

Bridgestone said it is building upon the 98-percent rate of recovery/reuse already achieved at its 2,200 Bridgestone Retail Operations stores nationwide.

The initiative involves a program for its company-owned stores, a voluntary program for its network of affiliated retailers and a community program that provides scrap tyre collection for neighborhood and river clean-up events.

“The purpose of this program is simple-to improve our environment by moving towards a waste-free tyre industry where all spent tyres are captured and sent to another valuable use,” said John Sheerin, environmental director for Bridgestone Retail Operations and program spokesperson.

“It's a lofty goal, but failure is not an option when it comes to ensuring the future health of our environment,” he said. “And that's why we're not doing it alone. By working together with our affiliated retailers, community partners, academia, government entities and others in our industry, we can and will find even better solutions for our products at the end of their useful lives.”

The company has committed, by year-end, that 100 percent of dismounted tyres from its company-owned stores in the U.S. will be recycled in some form.

In 2013, the company will launch a voluntary program for its Bridgestone Affiliated Retailer Nationwide Network to encourage dealers to aim for zero waste of used/scrap tyres at their stores.

The community clean-up support program, which begins immediately, includes a new partnership with River Network, a Portland, Ore.-based nonprofit that heads a national watershed protection movement to protect rivers and watersheds. Bridgestone's clean-up support program will recycle any scrap tyres collected during any River Network or other independently organized clean-up event, free of charge.

Event organizers can request tyre recycling support by filling out the form available at OneTeamOnePlanet.com/Americas.

“It is our goal to make tyres found in our natural environment a thing of the past and no longer the poster child of trash. We are all part of One Team, One Planet, and together we will make a difference-one tyre at a time,” Mr. Sheerin said.

From Tire Business (A Crain publication)

Press release from Bridgestone