News and feature articles relating to recycling, including collection, of end of life tyres.
The Environment Agency reports the January 20 arrest of three men suspected of illegally exporting waste tyres into Vietnam and Hong Kong – destinations to which the export of waste tyres is prohibited. The trio – a 60 year old from Chelmsford, Essex, a 32 year old from Spalding, Lincolnshire and a 61 year old from Swanscombe, Kent – were arrested on suspicion of a number of fraud offences.
Specialist waste transfer contractor Shorten Environmental has recorded a 50 per cent reduction in punctures since it started fitting Michelin new and Remix tyres across its fleet. The haulier has also begun specifying Michelin tyres as original equipment on new vehicles – most recently when it ordered two Scania R440 6×4 tractor units. Before signing an exclusive Michelin contract, the company’s 31-strong fleet of 44-tonne tractor units, ejector and walking floor trailers had been operating on a variety of different tyre brands. It began Michelin trials in 2008.
Vellco Tyre Control recent took delivery of two brand new “60-registered” MAN 6×2 Tractor Units utilising unique EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) technology designed for Euro 5 engines. But for the company that began trading in 1950 the purchase was more than just a infrastructure investment, it was also something of a celebration of the fact that during 2010 the company has been celebrating 60 years of trading.
Yokohama Rubber’s car, truck and bus tyre factory in Thailand has become the company’s fifth plant outside of Japan to achieve “complete zero emissions” – in other words, no waste generated in the factory is subject to direct landfill disposal. This achievement was reached in November, eleven months after the factory became the first Yokohama factory outside of Japan to reach “zero emission” – less than one per cent – landfill status.
The biennial showcase event for the quarrying, recycling and heavy construction industries, Hillhead has announced that its 2012 show will take place at Tarmac’s Hillhead Quarry, Buxton, between 19 and 21 June 2012. These dates are one week earlier than Hillhead’s usual slot in the show calendar in order to help distance the event from the build up to the 2012 Olympic Games, which open on 27 July. A new Hillhead 2012 website (www.hillhead.com) is currently under construction.
During a hearing held at Ely Magistrates’ Court on November 16, Murfitts Industries Ltd pleaded not guilty to keeping, treating or disposing of waste in a manner likely to cause pollution. The Environment Agency brought this charge against the company following a fire at its tyre recycling plant near Littleport, East Cambridgeshire in August 2009.
Fly-ash recycling technology innovator, RockTron International has announced that it has signed an MOU with Malaysia energy provider TNB, following the launch of RockTron Asia in Kuala Lumpur this October. The company is also in discussions with major companies from across Asia regarding the company’s new licensing proposition. Tyre industry interest in RockTron stems from its technology’s ability to manufacture “eco-minerals” from stockpiled coal-fired power station waste (otherwise known as fly ash), which can be used to manufacture tyre rubber filler, or indeed as fillers and extenders in any polymer, rubber and coatings manufacturing and as cementitious substitutes, dramatically cutting costs and CO2 emissions.
This year’s Innovation Award, which is decided upon by a jury of industry experts as opposed to the popular vote held for all other categories, this year saw eight entrants come from a complete cross section of the tyre industry with companies from the manufacturer/supplier (Continental, GITI and Michelin), garage equipment (Pro-Align), retail (HiQ) workshop consumables (Apaseal) and tyre recovery (Vellco Tyre Control) sectors all represented.
In this final polled category only two companies – Credential Environmental and DME Tyres – survive from last year's finalists and they are joined by previous winners Kingpin Tyres, Envirotyre and Hardings Vans, a company providing a localised service. The awards, which recognises which tyre collection and recycling-related company members of the wider tyre industry considered most worthy in a popular vote, went to Envirotyre – a company that bills itself as being “one of the largest collectors of end of life tyres in the UK.”
Genan A/S has appointed Jens Ole Bahr to the role of director/COO effective 1 October 2010. Bahr will have the responsibility for production, logistics and sales in the Nordic countries and the UK. He previously held the position of CEO at Esbjerg Farve- og Lakfabrik A/S.
The TIA is bringing a “green” perspective to the proceedings with a late addition to the upcoming Global Tire Expo schedule, reports Tire Review. TIA will hold a forum “Making ‘Green’ Work For Tire Dealers” on Wednesday, 3 November from noon to 13:00 in Room S231 of the South Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
SEMA says that tyres are a hot topic among those planning to attend the upcoming 2010 SEMA Show and Global Tire Expo, according to Tire Review. In all, more than 9,000 attendees are specifically interested in tyres and tyre-related products. Among that group, SEMA said, more than 3,000 attendees specifically identified themselves as “tyre buyers.” The 2010 SEMA Show and GTE will be held 2-5 November at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Sekhar Research Innovations (SRI) has been awarded the 2010 Asia Pacific Technology Innovation Award for Tire Recycling Technology by Frost & Sullivan. SRI received the Asia Pacific award in recognition of its performance in terms of uniqueness of technology, impact on new products/applications, functionality, customer value and the relevance of SRI’s innovation to the tyre recycling industry.
Kingpin Tyres has reportedly agreed “tough new safety measures” in the wake of three major fires on the site in the last 17 months at its Wem Industrial Estate premises. According to the Shropshire Star staff at Kingpin Tyres have agreed to develop “a safer set of standards for storing the rubber stacks and make the piles smaller to allow firefighters easier access if another fire does break out.”
Bridgestone Europe has released the latest edition of its environmental report. The document, titled ‘Environmental Commitment and Performance’, updates the 2009 version and adds content on the upcoming European tyre labelling legislation, Bridgestone’s new eco-oriented Ecopia tyre range and the company’s environment-related activities in the community.
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