A Tire Export Ban took effect on December 1, 2021 in Australia that now faces a challenge about what to do with the 70,000 tons of tires it used to export each year.
Similar import or export bans have been approved at different countries and this makes end-of-life tires a potentially valuable local resource for those that know how to evolve processing technologies and business models to leverage it.
Massive dump sites exist in several parts of the world and some are not far away from residential areas where residents are bothered by periodic large fires releasing noxious black smoke. Recycling is helping society by cleaning up the dumped old tires and turning them into consumer products.
In Europe, Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament, and later on Directive 2018/851 about Waste , introduced a set of requirements that must be met so that a certain waste stream, after recovery, can no longer be considered waste. It is the concept that has been called in both regulations as “end of waste condition” and its of particular interest for end-of-life tires applications.
Within the scope of the European Union, the European Commission has not adopted a regulation in which, in accordance with the Waste Framework Directive, criteria and specifications are defined to determine when the materials obtained from the treatment of end-of-life tires cease to be have the residual condition.
For this reason, some countries have been working on the development of their own national end-of-waste regulations for the rubber obtained from the treatment of these end-of life-tires; Specifically, Italy, Latvia, Portugal and the United Kingdom and more recently Spain, this January, are the countries that already have end-of-waste regulations for end-of-life tires. Ireland has developed end-of-waste conditions for the use of end-of-life tire bales in surface works.
Main known applications for end-of-life tires are roads, pavements, sports grounds, equine tracks and playgrounds safety surfacing, but there are other potential uses that are being explored or are already used as:
- spray seal
- blast protective concrete
- safety barriers
- alternative fuels.
Major part of countries have a tire collection and recovery procedure that reduces the risks to our environment and health and answer the community demand for sustainable solutions.
Those countries not having a good system must face several risks as:
- Illegal stockpiling, dumping and mismanagement of used tires
- Reduction in recovery rate of used tires
- Fires and environmental and health incidents
Take care
References:
- https://weibold.com/australia-to-find-solution-for-70000-tons-of-endoflife-tires-after-tire-export-ban
- https://www.sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/waste/article/70-000-tonnes-of-opportunity-and-local-councils-are-showing-us-how-to-take-advantage-of-it-1506497125
- Directive from EU Parlament: 2018/851
- Order from Spanish Government: TED/1522/2021, of 29th December
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