New solution for problematic off-the-road tyres

© Sumit Buranarothtrakul – 123RF.com

Mining companies are required, by law, to have in place Waste Tyre Stockpile Abatement Plans in order to deal with large OTR waste tyres. Despite this requirement, there was no solution to deal with the problem, either through downsizing or recycling, and no mining companies were able to meet compliance requirements.

The Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (REDISA), through its business incubation programme, is supporting Waste Beneficiation - a company now ready to start making a difference in downsizing bulky, heavy and difficult to dispose of ORT tyres.

Waste Beneficiation has the capacity to downsize between 50-60 tons of OTR tyres per day with state-of-the-art machinery, and is the solution for the severe environmental challenge posed by the vast volumes of OTR tyres discarded and not remediated.

End product

Khothatso Moloi, chief executive officer of Waste Beneficiation, said the OTR problem is enormous and until now the necessary technology and machinery was not available to deal with it. "The end product downsized by our machinery is shredded, high quality, OTR rubber, and the technology enables us adapt the size the shredded rubber based on the requirements of the recycling company purchasing the product.

"The shredded product can be used (once further downsized by the relevant recycling company) in asphalt, as well as in the manufacture of roofing tiles, rubber bricks and matting for use in playgrounds, to name but a few,” Moloi said.

The end result is that OTR tyres do not end up abandoned in landfills or burnt; entrepreneurs are developed; mining companies are able to meet compliance requirements; and new technology in terms of the necessary downsizing machinery is brought into the country for the first time.

Independent businesses

Part of REDISA’s mandate is to develop independent businesses that will compete in both local and international export markets. The business incubation programme looks to prove the business viability of the machinery within the recycling industry, as well as to create and develop entrepreneurs within the new industry.

“Developing entrepreneurs through the new tyre recycling industry is critical to our measurement of success as an organisation,” says REDISA CEO, Hermann Erdmann. “Supporting the creation of well-rounded astute businessmen and women through the business incubation programme means that REDISA is able to mentor and guide those individuals involved, ensuring that ultimately the end business developed is sustainable.”