China sets minimum targets for retreaders and waste tyre processors

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has introduced new policy guidelines covering the country’s retreading industry and waste tyre utilisation. These include directives regarding where a retreading facility may and may not be set up – no new retreading plants are to be established in environmentally sensitive areas – and also calls for greater consistency in the production process and with production equipment plus the implementation of product quality control systems and testing equipment in line with national and industry standards.

The policy also states that existing retreading facilities must be able to retread the equivalent of at least 20,000 size 9.00-20 tyres annually, while any new plant must have a 30,000 minimum annual capacity. Existing waste tyre facilities must be able to process at least 10,000 tons a year and newly-built plants are required to handle double this amount.

Under the policy, the pre-cure retreading process must consume less than 15 kWh per standard 9.00-20 tyre and mould cure retreading less than 18 kWh. When recycling waste tyres, the process used to produce recycled rubber should consume less than 850kWh per ton, the production of rubber powder less than 350kWh per ton and processing using pyrolisis less than 300 kWh per ton.

Existing retreaders and waste tyre processors must meet the given requirements within a two-year period, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology says. Those who fail to do so will be blocked from continuing their operations.