PRESS RELEASE: Bike Tyres Into Products Not Tips
Bicycle tyres and tubes will have a new Australian recycling solution from the New Year through the joint effort of TyreCycle and Revolve ReCYCLING.
Through collaboration between TyreCycle and Revolve ReCYCLING, bicycle tyres and tubes will be:
• Collected from bike shops and individual riders by Revolve ReCYCLING;
• Aggregated and value-added by Revolve ReCYCLING;
• Transported to TyreCycle by Bingo Industries, and;
• Recycled into new Australian-based products by TyreCycle at its new Erskine Park plant (with metal scrap sent to SIMS Metal for recycling).
“Until now, bicycle tyres and tubes have been challenging to recycle for a number of reasons, including the overall lack of scale and the need to remove metal valves. We will meet this challenge by consolidating collection of tyre material across many bike shops and by pre-treating it so that TyreCycle can usefully use it,” Pete Shmigel, Director of Revolve ReCYCLING, said.
“With higher-quality material, we can now more readily use bicycle tyres and tubes in our product manufacturing. This could include in rubber crumb used in playground equipment and in road-building materials. It’s part of TyreCycle’s commitment to going circular,” Jim Fairweather, CEO of TyreCycle, said.
“This is a terrific example of how the recycling industry partners and innovates for environmental benefits. Four ACOR members are involved in taking what was going to landfill and now turning it into useful products. This type of activity is what Governments should support, including Councils by providing drop-off points for used bicycles and e-bikes,” Suzanne Toumbourou, CEO of the Australian Council of Recycling, said.
TyreCycle is an internationally awarded tyre recycler and recycled content product manufacturer. Revolve ReCYCLING, initiated in September 2021, aims to be Australia’s leader in helping riders, bike shops and other retailers, fleet operators, Councils, importers and others give new life to old rides.
Up 10% of a typical bike shop’s waste is rubber from used tyres and tubes. Sydney’s 100 bikes shops could generate up to XXX tonnes per year of rubber waste. It is further estimated that there may be up to 14 million tyres and tubes on unused bicycles in Australia’s garages, verandas, and sheds – or some 10,000 tonnes of material.
The recycling solution for bicycle tyres and tubes will be part of Revolve ReCYCLING’s new bike shop waste minimisation service. The service will be available across Sydney from January 2023 with plans to expand to Canberra, Newcastle, Wollongong and elsewhere.
