Industry leaders connect at “historic” recycling meeting

Prague – Leaders of the main industry associations representing tire recyclers and tire manufacturers in Europe met for the first time in years, during the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) World Recycling Convention, 26-27 Oct in Prague.

The forum was the BIR tyres & rubber committee meeting, where Fazilet Cinaralp of the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) and Dr Valerie Shulman of the European Tyre Recycling Association (ETRA) shared a platform.

Welcoming what he described as an “historic meeting of people who have not been meeting each other for years,” committee chairman Ruud Burlet emphasised the need for tire makers and recyclers to unite to address common issues.

“The only way we can counter the threats and make use of the opportunities is if we cooperate, join forces and stand as one,” said Burlet, who is also managing director of recycling company Rubber Resources BV, based in  Maastricht, The Netherlands.

For instance, Burlet pointed to EU moves to ban the use of tire rubber in sports fields, which represents about a third of the market for the recycled material.

“This is already on the verge of happening, so you really have to counteract this,” he told the committee meeting, staged on day 1 of the BIR global gathering.

“We are really entering a new era, where we have to organise ourselves to ensure this raw material is used in the best possible ways,” she said. “We need to find a way of truly working together and having a constructive dialogue.”

Shulman also emphasised the need for recyclers to have good quality market information, particularly on scrap tire arisings, and highlighted the sector’s progress in developing new applications for recycled tire materials.