WASTE MANAGEMENT IN ACTION – TYRE RECYCLING
Off-the-road tyre traction A CRITICAL FIRST STEP TO ACCELERATING OFF-THE-ROAD TYRE RESOURCE RECOVERY HAS BEEN COMPLETED, WITH THE RELEASE OF A NEW REPORT COMMISSIONED BY TYRE STEWARDSHIP AUSTRALIA.
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hile the Australian tyre recycling conversation has traditionally focused on passenger and truck tyres, the disposal and recycling of off-the-road (OTR) tyres is largely uncharted territory. OTR disposal and recycling is particularly challenging in the mining sector, where their size, construction and remote location makes material processing onerous. To get an accurate picture of OTR, Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) engaged Randell Environmental Consulting for a research project. Working with Brock Baker Environmental consulting, the firms completed an analysis of the consumption and fate of OTR tyres. The analysis was borne from the recommendations of a previous report that same year which identified the need to better understand OTR tyre consumption and fate. This was given the estimated recovery rate in 2018-19 was a mere 11 per cent, compared to 89 per cent recovery within the passenger and truck sector. The remaining 89 per cent of OTR tyres were not recovered, with an assumed 81 per cent disposed onsite at mining, farming or similar sites. The report covers the agriculture, aviation, construction, manufacturing and trade and mining sectors. In breaking down the findings, the mining
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KALTIRE is building a plant at Le Negra, Chile, which will be capable of processing 7500 tonnes per year of large mining tyres.
sector had the highest OTR generation in 2018-19 at 68,000 (58 per cent), followed by agriculture at 31,400 (27 per cent) and the other sectors. Combining all the sectors collectively, the five-year average for OTR generation is around 119,000. Importantly, the report is an entry point to facilitate more informed discussions and does not look to provide the answers to improved used mining tyre recovery. Lina Goodman, TSA CEO, says stakeholder interviews and visits will inform further information-gathering. “OTR tyres have been left off the discourse for a while. This is largely because the opportunites to manage them from a resource recovery
perspective haven’t been there, or were limited. We’re now starting to see that change,” Lina says. “While OTR research has traditionally focused on the mining sector, this report tells us there are other parts of OTR that are just as important like agriculture and construction. “What’s significant is they may be a little bit simpler to manage than the large earthmoving tyres on mining sites.” WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TYRES? Australia’s used OTR tyres are subject to a range of different fates possible, including retreading for reuse, civil engineering, turned into processed
