We don’t usually think of tire recycling as a competition. Tires are made by the millions, used by almost every person on the planet, and discarded when worn out. In the late 1900s, tire recycling emerged as the answer to cleaning up overflowing landfills and empty lots, which were accumulating piles and piles of end-of-life tires.
In general, recycling is thought of as environmentally friendly, even charitable. But competitive? Where does the competition aspect of tire recycling come from?
To be honest, it’s not a real competition. But for a moment, let’s consider which companies recycle the most tires. How have these companies become so successful in the tire recycling sphere?
5th Place – Scandinavian Enviro Systems
In 5th place, Scandinavian Enviro Systems can recycle 30,000 tons of tires annually and has around 20 employees. They are a world leader in end-of-life tire pyrolysis, the process of heating tires shreds to several hundred degrees Celsius in the absence of oxygen. This causes the tires to break down into their constituent parts, gases, liquids, and solids.
Scandinavian Enviro Systems sends the gases produced during the pyrolysis process through a condenser, which cools them and condenses them into a liquid form. This liquid is often referred to as pyrolysis oil, and it can be used as a fuel or for producing other chemicals. The Scandanavian-based recycling company sells solids made from the pyrolysis process, carbon black and steel, as commodities.
4th Place – Green Distillation Technologies
Hailing from the land down under, Green Distillation Technologies has been successful in tire recycling due to its unique recycling process, which allows it to produce high-value products from waste tires. They convert around 685,000 tires into reusable goods every year.
In a similar vein to Scandinavian Enviro Systems, The company uses a patented pyrolysis process to convert tires into oil, carbon, and steel, which are then used in a range of industrial applications. They are also excellent at communicating the pyrolysis process in animations and through their blog. Like many Australian-based organizations, the company also strongly focuses on sustainability and has received several awards for its environmental initiatives.
3rd Place – Genan
This Danish company has the machinery for processing 1,100 tons of tires every single day. While many of the tires they recycle are from ordinary passenger cars, they also focus on the OTR (off-the-road) tire recycling market as well as motorbikes and trucks. They have large operations in Denmark, Germany, Portugal, and the USA, making them one of the largest tire recycling companies in the world. Not quite the biggest, though. If it’s a competition, then there are two even more productive companies out there shredding tires.
2nd Place – Lakin Tire
Lakin Tire has been around the sun a few times. One-hundred years ago, Lakin started the company, and now it’s still turning over recycled tires and, amazingly enough, still partially owned by the Lakin family. They do tire recycling throughout the US and do it well. With a grassroots focus on sourcing from local waste tires, they have helped the backroads and landfills become useful again rather than tire swamps, slowly leaching into our waterways. However, Lakin Tire Company has recently been acquired by an even bigger tire recycling company, the winner of our mock competition.
1st Place – Liberty Tire Recycling
Liberty Tire Recycling is thought to be the largest tire recycling company in the world. It recycles approximately 194 million tires each year. The company has over 40 facilities in the United States and Canada. These tire recycling plants produce a variety of recycled rubber products, including tire-derived fuel, crumb rubber, and rubber mulch.
Liberty Tire Recycling has risen to dominate the tire recycling industry due to its extensive network of facilities and ability to produce a wide variety of recycled rubber products. The large network of facilities allows it to efficiently collect, process, and distribute large volumes of tires. Additionally, the company has developed innovative recycling technologies that enable it to produce high-quality products in high demand, such as crumb rubber for sports fields and rubberized asphalt for roads. They are a classic example of seeing waste tires as a product that can sell rather than the garbage that we must dispose of.
Where is ECO Green Tire Recycling Equipment?
ECO Green doesn’t actively recycle tires but instead supports tire recycling worldwide by providing the best shredders, crumb rubber machines, and conveyor belts for rubber recycling plants. Many of the most prominent tire recyclers use ECO Green’s specialized rubber recycling machinery.
In the end, it’s certainly not a competition. Even small tire shredding businesses that only serve their local areas can make a good profit and a big difference in their own way. We are proud to support companies worldwide in their efforts to recycle old tires. Working together, we can clean up the landscape and find alternate uses for these discarded rubber rings.
Infographic
Top tire recycling firms have revolutionized the industry through innovation and tire pyrolysis. They convert discarded tires into valuable resources, reducing landfill waste and rejuvenating landscapes. Leading companies include Liberty Tire Recycling, processing 194 million tires yearly, and Genan, handling 1,100 tons daily. These efforts promote global eco-friendliness and sustainability.