Press releases
The pioneers came from the Nordic countries
The Nordic countries are forerunners in developing tyre recycling based on collective producer responsibility. By the turn of the millennium, the recovery rate of end-of-life tyres in Finland, Sweden and Norway had already been established at above 90 percent, whereas in Europe it was only 50 percent on average. In 2012, as much as 95 percent of used tyres were recovered in Europe (including EU27, Norway and Switzerland).
Tyre recycling in Finland, Sweden and Norway is based
on national legislation set in 1993–95 which order tyre producers to organize
the collection and treatment of end-of-life tyres (ELT). The key actors in the tyre industry set up a
non-profit ELT management company in each country to meet the recycling
obligation in the most cost-effective way.
Commitment and continuous improvement
The creation of recycling systems were driven by a strong common interest between the tyre producers. Tyre distributors were right away committed to the system, even though initially many of them had to deliver the received tyres to the collection point at their own expense. Since then the grade of service has improved in every system by making the pick-up service available to all.
Recovery routes of used tyres have varied over the years. According to the 2013 recycling statistics, the most common recovery route in Sweden and Norway was the energy production. In Finland, most of tyres were recovered as material, mainly for civil engineering. The legislation seems to be tightening which makes development of tyre derived products more complicated.
Appreciation for tyre derived products
The main challenges of tyre recycling concern the development of end-of-waste criteria, appreciation for tyre derived products and to get free-riders onboard. These are worthwhile subjects to get involved with individually and collectively, in order to continue finding optimal applications for this versatile material and to keep recycling fees at a low level.
End-of-life tyres are classified as waste, which causes needless bureaucracy and additional costs to the recycling process. However, the waste legislation offers an opportunity to cease the waste status, if the material meets certain criteria concerning use and demand, technical requirements and standards, as well as the environmental and health impact.
It has been estimated, that 5–20 percent of tyres treated by the recycling systems come from producers, which have not financially contributed the systems. Authorities supervising the producer responsibility have already adopted a stricter stance on free-riders. The Nordic ELT management companies encourage consumers to pay more attention to corporate responsibility in environmental issues.
Further information:
The Pioneers of Producer Responsibility (Nordic ELT management companies, 2014)
Risto Tuominen, Finnish Tyre
Recycling Ltd, tel. +358 9 612 6880
Lars Åman, Svensk
Däckåtervinning AB, tel. +46 8 5060 1055
Hroar Braathen, Norsk
Dekkretur AS, tel. +47 6385 5560
www.rengaskierratys.com