Canadian Company Breaks Ground on Tire Recycling Pilot Project

Company expects to handle around 900 whole tires a day.

Ellsin Environmental, a newly created Canadian company, has broken ground on a pilot project that aims to convert scrap tires into a viable energy source, while marketing the solid carbon back into a usable rubber product. The system, called reverse polymerization, has been developed by Environmental Waste International.

The location, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, is expected to be able to handle around 900 whole tires a day during its pilot project phase. Once the company is able to work through the system the company foresees the possibility of handling as many as 60,000 tires a day.

Robert Maier, president and CEO of Ellsin says that the company hopes to complete the construction and installation of the equipment by the first half of next year. The company expects to run the pilot plant for at least 18 months, before making a decision on locating other similar, albeit larger plants, throughout other areas of North America.

The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. is investing $2 million in the project to help Ellsin Environmental Ltd. complete the pilot site.