£133,000 Grant Establishes Tyre Recycler

At the end of 2007 the Enhance Capital Fund provided £133,000 to help Edmonton-based London Tyre Recycling (LTR) become established. According to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), every day over 131,000 worn tyres are taken off cars, vans and trucks accounting for more than 48 million tyres (487,000 tonnes) per year. Hugh Smith, programme manager, London Remade, said: “The Enhance programme has awarded London Tyre Recycling (LTR) with a capital grant for tyre shredding equipment to work in response to the EU Landfill Directive that bans most tyres from being sent to landfill. The funding will enable LTR to take used tyres from this priority waste stream and reprocess them into rubber chips that can be used to manufacture many new products.”

Glyn Brooke, managing director, London Tyre Recycling, said: “The grant we have received for the tyre shredders from the Enhance Capital Fund is extremely important for the business. This will enable London Tyre Recycling to develop quickly and expand its offering to other businesses and local authorities, as well as potentially supply recycled rubber chips and granulate to use for the development of the 2012 Olympic Games.”

The Enhance Capital Fund is helping to create 13 jobs, enabling LTR to provide a valuable, environmental service in an Objective 2 area of London. The capital grant is for an Eldan pre-chopper and super-chopper that will shred waste tyres, primarily from Edmonton and Park Royal. Tyres still on rims will be separated and the steel sent for re-smelting. Typical uses for the recycled tyres will include engineering, equestrian ménage rings, artificial sports surfaces and landscaping.