Life is just a tyre swing — sang American songwriter Jimmy Buffet, expounding the joys of a hedonistic lifestyle. Authors worldwide have used it to symbolise childhood and freedom and even in the memories of UAE residents carefree times flood back when they see a lone tyre swinging from a tree. But when one becomes millions there are more serious connotations. The exact number of scrap tyres lying about the UAE cannot be quantified, but is in the region of “Tens of millions”, says Diab Abu Shaheen, General Manager, Gulf Rubber Factory, Al Ain.
Finding a solution
To find a solution to Abu Dhabi’s growing pile of scrap tyres, this used tyre recycling facility was opened in January 2012 in collaboration with the Centre of Waste Management — Abu Dhabi on behalf of the Abu Dhabi government.
Shaheen says that the number of scrap vehicle tyres generated in the UAE is calculated as per the international standard for industrialised countries, which is based on the population of the country, meaning that about one passenger car tyre equivalent (weighing around nine kilos) per person per year. “So if the UAE’s population is eight million, then there may be eight million tyres a year heading towards landfill or recycling centres,” says Shaheen.
“The main problem with increasing numbers of stockpiled scrap tyres is its effect on the environment. Apart from harbouring mosquitoes, snakes, vermin and insects, they are unsightly and present a potential fire hazard,” he says. Burning tyres release toxic fumes and take a long time to extinguish.
Annually the Gulf Rubber Factory facility processes 25,000 tonnes of all types of tyres into steel and rubber granules. Recycled rubber products for the local, regional and international markets include safety mats for school playgrounds, running tracks, landscaping mulch, tiles and pavement blocks.
Bee’ah Environment and Waste Management Company in Sharjah is on track to achieving a zero waste-to-landfill ratio in Sharjah by 2015, its Chief Commercial Officer Najib Faris said at the recent Hilton Sustainability Summit. Once achieved, it would make “Sharjah the first Arab city to divert 100 per cent of its waste from landfill”, he added.
The tyre recycling facility (TRF), which forms part of Bee’ah’s Waste Management Complex, uses a cryogenic process to recycle about 9,000 used tyres per day. “The cryogenic process uses liquid nitrogen to flash-freeze the tyres at minus 196 degrees Celsius, which become brittle and broken down like glass into crumb granules varying between 0.5mm in size and 4mm, which can be used for different applications, such as running tracks, grass-surfaced playing areas, stadium playing areas, miniature golf courses and in artificial turf infill,” says Faris.
Tedious process
All types of tyres, from motorcycle to tractor, are processed here although mega tyres used in irregular industrial vehicles are not. “Steel-belt radial tyres have the steel threads removed and the latter is sold as recycled material — the tyre then goes through the breakdown process as any other tyre,” he says.
The average process time of each tyre is 40 minutes, after which it becomes crumb rubber. The TRF can produce 750 tonnes of crumb rubber each month although at full operational capacity the facility could process 200,000 per month.
The waste management department at Dubai Municipality has been working with Mott MacDonald, a management, engineering and development consultancy, to develop an integrated waste management master plan for the emirate on behalf of Dubai Municipality, which will provide a structure for waste management in Dubai until 2030, according to the municipality’s website. “One of the key aims of the master plan is to achieve 70 per cent recycling by 2025. Source segregation will be a key driver to achieve this ambitious target, which will put Dubai at the forefront of sustainable waste management,” says the Mott MacDonald consultancy on its website.
The fast expansion of this region and the increased population has generated an huge number of used tyres UAE wide, says Tariq Al Mansouri, General Manager, Sharjah National Crumb Rubber Industries, which processes the whole tyre into granules, crumb rubber, steel (in the form of iron granules) and fibre.
The principle product — some 650 tonnes a month — is crumb rubber, used to increasing the performance of asphalt, while rubber mixed with urethane is used to make athletic track surfaces and other products.
Tyre-derived fuel (TDF) is not popular yet in the UAE generally because of the cost, says Al Mansouri. However the US, Europe, the UK and North Asia have been using TDF to power their industries for close on 30 years. Rubber chips are used in very high heat operations such as in cement factories, according to the Carbonrecovery.co.nz website.
In Fujairah, the Green Environment Tyres Recycle (Gentr) was established by owner and General Manager Ahmad Alshehhi in 2009. “I realised the damage redundant piles of tyres could do to the environment as well as becoming an eyesore and creating landfill problems,” he says.
Gentr processes about 100,000 scrap tyres per year to granule and rubber powder form. In 2013 it produced about 5,000 tonnes per year. Products include tiles, sports surfaces, carpet underlay, noise and vibration insulation and the most popular are mats for children’s playgrounds, sold in blocks to the local market and in Saudi Arabia.
