Photo courtesy of Alcoa Corp.
The Australian operations of United States-based aluminum producer Alcoa Corp. is working with Australia-based Tyrecycle on a procedure to recycle end-of-life conveyor belt material generated at Alcoa’s mining sites in Australia.
Alcoa says Tyreccycle took delivery of an initial shipment of used conveyor belt material sent in the form of a large reel to Tyrecycle’s facility in East Rockingham, Australia, in late September.
After processing steps by Tyrecycle, the steel wire within the belts will be prepared for a melt shop and the rubber will be turned into crumb rubber suitable for a range of uses, including as an additive for use in road construction, Alcoa says.
The cooperative effort follows the 2024 enactment of an ongoing off-the-road (OTR) tire recycling contract between Alcoa and Tyrecycle.
Alcoa says the conveyor belt recycling effort is part of its initiative to reduce, recycle and reuse waste from its mining and refining operations in the state of Western Australia.
“This new opportunity will allow us to recycle 80 reels of used conveyor belt in the initial program, with Tyrecycle processing about 100 metric tons a week into crumb [rubber[,” says Nicole King, Alcoa’s global program manager for water and waste.
King says about 32 kilometers (20 miles) of used conveyor belt will be delivered to the East Rockingham facility during the next several months.
“That’s alongside more than 300 metric tons of our used OTR tires a year,” King says.
“Initially we’ll produce rubber crumb, like we do with tires, that can be repurposed into a broad range of applications such as polymers for bitumen, granules used in sporting and playground surfaces, adhesives and molded rubber products," Tyrecycle Head of Trading, Mining and Strategic Development Ashley Battilana says.
“Our vision is to continue driving innovation so we can integrate recycled material into new conveyor belt manufacturing in the future.”
The East Rockingham facility opened in May 2024 and has continued to provide solutions to assist Western Australian mining operators to decarbonize their supply chains by recycling tires and other rubber products.
“We’re proud to work with Alcoa, jointly supporting jobs in the region and continuing to reduce impacts on the environment,” Battilana says.
Latest from Recycling Today
- Nucor names new president
- DOE rare earths funding is open to recyclers
- Design for Recycling Resolution introduced
- PetStar PET recycling plant expands
- Iron Bull addresses scrap handling needs with custom hoppers
- REgroup, CP Group to build advanced MRF in Nova Scotia
- Oregon county expands options for hard-to-recycling items
- Flexible plastic packaging initiative launches in Canada
