Worlds Largest Tyre Recycling Facility Opens in Houston, Texas

German Tyre recycling specialist, Genan, has opened a 100,000 tonne per year recycling facility in Houston, Texas. Claimed to be the largest tyre recycling plant in the world, the facility is said to have cost over $140 million dollars to build. Genan uses tyre recycling technology that it said processes end-of-life tyres into new raw material in the form of rubber and steel which can be used as a substitution for virgin rubber and steel. For each tonne recycled in one of its recycling facilities, Genan claimed that 1.1 tonnes of CO2 emissions are saved in comparison the co-incineration of tyres in cement kilns. Thinking big According to the company, the facility is the first step in its U.S. strategy. As in Europe, Genan said that it is aiming for a share of around 10% of the American market for end-of-life tyres. Back in 2009 the company set up a U.S. sales organisation in order to build up a network of customers – and to foster growing knowledge of its products within recycled rubber powder and granulate. The Houston plant will also act at a U.S. headquarters for the company, which said that it is planning a strategic network of four to five such plants optimally placed in respect of tyre supply and customer base. Genan explained that the decision to place the facility in Houston was primarily made on the grounds of the positive business climate in Texas, access to the second busiest port in the U.S. and low energy costs - corresponding to only 39% of energy costs in Denmark. Read More VIDEO: Microwave Energy Cuts Tyre Recycling GHG Emissions Toronto, Ontario based Environmental Waste International (TSX VENTURE: EWS) has developed a microwave tyre recycling process that offers significantly lower carbon dioxide emissions. Tackling Tyre Waste With the rapidly growing number of vehicles around the world, the disposal of end-of-life tyres is a growing issue. Often simply dumped by the million to pose a serious environmental, health and fire risk, the technology to recover higher value materials and energy from waste tyres is moving forward. By Ben Messenger. VIDEO 15,000 Tonne Tyre Blaze at Yorks Recycling Facility Visible from Space A serious fire at a recycling facility containing around 15,000 tonnes of tyres in Sherburn-in-Elmet, North Yorkshire has created a toxic plume of black smoke that is visible from space.