Tyrecycle and Alcoa Australia have joined forces in a milestone agreement to give a new life to old mining truck tyres.
This week Tyrecycle’s state-of-the-art recycling facility in East Rockingham, 40 kilometres south of Perth, welcomed its first load of used off the road (OTR) tyres from Alcoa.
“The partnership with Alcoa marks our first contracted agreement with a mining operator from the South West of Western Australia to recycle OTR tyres. This is a significant milestone for both Australia’s mining and recycling industries,” said Tyrecycle Chief Executive Officer, Jim Fairweather.
The huge 57-inch tyres, sourced from Alcoa’s bauxite mines in the Peel and South West regions, will be processed into crumb rubber, a core component in sustainable road surfaces and soft-surface applications such as athletics tracks and playgrounds.
“Every tonne of crumb rubber used in asphalt mixes represents a potential greenhouse gas saving of 2463 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-e). Knowing your mining tyres took that path instead of being buried is a fantastic outcome for stakeholders and the environment alike,” said Fairweather.
Alcoa Global Program Manager – Water and Waste, Nicole King highlights quality processes and sustainable outcomes as being a shared value in the partnership.
“We wanted to be sure our end-of-life OTR tyres were being managed and generating products that support our waste management objectives.
“We have set ourselves the global goal of a 25 per cent reduction in landfilled waste by 2030 from a 2015 baseline. OTR tyres are a significant material stream for our WA mining operations, and recycling end-of-life tyres will make a contribution towards achieving our goal,” said King.
Tyrecycle has sights firmly set on expanding its mining tyre recycling capability, with the company in the final stages of constructing is new OTR tyre recycling plant in Port Hedland. The facility will have an initial 12,000 tonne per annum processing capacity and is scheduled to commence operations in November 2024.
“Our Western Australian tyre recycling capability and capacity has grown significantly in the past 12 months, with much more to come. Later this year we’ll be opening Australia’s first dedicated OTR tyre recycling facility in Port Hedland,” Fairweather said.
“This site will significantly increase the economic viability of the sustainable management of end-of-life OTR tyres.”
For more information, visit: www.tyrecycle.com.au
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
