Sims Group Looks For Some Road To Lay A Bit Of Rubber

The world's largest recycler of metals, Sims Group, is poised to tackle the world's largest recycling problem - tires - but a result could be more than two years away.

The ultimate aim is to sell the recovered rubber crumb to road makers for mixing with tarmac to produce longer-wearing, quieter roads.

The company has bought the assets of a UK recycling company, NECP, which specialized in computer and telecommunications equipment but also has a tire recycling operation using granulation technology.

The study of tire recycling will dovetail with the company's preparations for the introduction of the End of Vehicle Life Directive in the UK, under which cars must be recycled rather than just dumped.

A successful tire recycling operation would increase the percentage of a vehicle that Sims could recycle, making it easier to reach the legislated targets, which rise from the present 75 per cent to 85 percent in 2007.

Sims managing director Jeremy Sutcliffe said Sims talked to NECP in 1990 and conducted due diligence on its operations before dropping the idea.

"They recently went into liquidation, and we picked up a whole basket of very good assets on the cheap," Sutcliffe said when releasing the Sims Group nine-month result this week.

"We are going to experiment with these assets and see if there is a viable business plan."

He said the recent Landfill Directive in the UK outlawed the dumping of whole tires.

Some rubber crumb is used for playgrounds and walkways in places such as golf courses, but those applications use a fraction of the tires discarded each year.

Tests published by various authorities have shown that adding rubber crumb to road aggregate results in better wear characteristics and much quieter operation.

Sutcliffe acknowledged that opening up the road aggregate market would not be easy, and the issue of tire recycling would probably require legislation, such as the laws under which the Sims refrigerator recycling plant was built.

It would also require officially sanctioned trials, which could take two years to complete.

He said tire recyclers would need to levy a fee to make the recycling worthwhile.

"The legislation is only going to get tougher, which will increase pressure for a gate fee and, as the gate fees go up, presumably we can sell the products (crumb and steel cord) for less."

However, he recognized the vested interests in road making, and legislation might be needed for rubber crumb to crack the road aggregate market.

"The asphalt lobby is probably saying it does not work," Sutcliffe said. "We don't expect much support from them." The Age (Australia)