In the past Watts had been sending tyres left over from its vehicle servicing business to landfill. Recognising the requirements of the Landfill Directive the company has now found new outlets for the tyres.
Under the Landfill Directive whole tyres have been banned from landfill since July 2003 and shredded tyres will also be banned from July 2006. A year ago Watts reported that with the ban coming, it was having difficult finding companies to recycle its waste solid tyres, because their extreme robustness made them hard to break down
Gloucestershire-based Watts has found three new project partners: Somerset-based Tyre Renewals, Tyneside Tyres in the North-East and Wundermulch in Northamptonshire.
Newly started company Wundermulch will turn the waste tyres into coloured rubber mulch, which can be used as a replacement for wood mulch on gardens.
Wundermulch Company director Allan Dick explained how the gardening product works: “The mulch doesn't rot like the wood alternative and so can be laid in place for a number of years. It is placed around flowers and plants and they continue to grow but the product prevents light getting to weeds.”
Tyre Renewals also turns tyres into mulch as well as crumbing them for play and sports surfaces. Tyneside Tyres crumb the rubber before selling it on to surfacing companies.
International interests
In addition to these outlets, Watts has international interests and is one of the largest manufacturers of solid tyres in the world. It has recently bought a 50% stake in Sri Lankan company, Eu-Retec and now exports a portion of its used tyres to the company for reworking into a new “Quantum” tyre. Watts then reuse these tyres in a number of their overseas tyre manufacturing ventures.
Phil Perry, Watts director, said: “We have been surprised at the variety of opportunities that have emerged in the last 12 months since we became aware that landfilling was no longer an option.
“We are delighted to have found a solution that is long term and in particular allows us to exercise our Duty of Care responsibilities to our customers,” he added.
The development comes after the Fork Lift Truck Association (FLTA) and the Industrial Tyre Association warned last year that the tyre industry was likely to face difficulties. This was because there were no dedicated facilities available to recycle industrial tyres due to the high capital cost involved.
But this week both associations said it was pleased Watts has made significant progress in tackling the problem of finding an outlet for waste tyres.
David Ellison, chief executive of the FLTA said “It looks like we will have long-term, cost-effective, environmentally sound solutions after all.”
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