"These tyre reprocessors who have already signed up are demonstrating to their current and future customers that their materials meet the standards set out in the publicly available specification documents published by WRAP earlier this year"
Steve Waite, Project Manager for Tyres at WRAP
Banbury, Oxon., England: A new list of 28 tyre reprocessors who have voluntarily registered their operations’ compliance with a series of quality control standards, has been published by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme). The new standards cover the production of tyre-derived rubber materials.
WRAP says that the new listings are a valuable resource for clients and end-users, as they provide assurance that materials being acquired from listed operators have been produced responsibly and in line with the standards PAS 107 and PAS 108.
More than 48 million tyres are disposed of each year in the UK and WRAP is taking essential steps to ensure that the best use is made of this potentially valuable resource.
Tyre rubber can be granulated or powdered through a grinding process. In September WRAP revealed the results of trials into a new roof tile made from crumbed rubber saying that the development of a new ultra-fine crumb rubber having unique properties had been incorporated into the tile, opening up new product opportunities for the end uses of recycled rubber. This is only one of the numerous uses for waste tyres.
The two PAS documents were published by WRAP earlier this year, in conjunction with the British Standards Institute (BSI). PAS 107 provides guidance on the measures and procedures needed to produce tyre shred or crumb while PAS 108 outlines specifications for the density, porosity and dimensions of tyre bales.
Tyres unlawfully disposed of in previous years have posed a substantial threat to the environment, in particular to water resources following fires involving tyre wastes.
Tyres quality protocol
WRAP says that PAS 107 will also be used to “inform” the new Tyres Quality Protocol, being created by WRAP in conjunction with the Environment Agency. The aim of the Quality Protocol is to define the point at which tyre-derived rubber material can no longer be considered a waste and therefore would not be subject to the strict regulations surrounding waste materials.
Steve Waite, Project Manager for Tyres at WRAP, said:
“These tyre reprocessors who have already signed up are demonstrating to their current and future customers that their materials meet the standards set out in the publicly available specification documents published by WRAP earlier this year. Importantly, businesses can still register that they’re operating in a compliant way and I would urge these people to visit the WRAP website and complete the online registration form.”
The list of the first 28 compliant companies can be viewed on the tyres section of the WRAP website - www.wrap.org.uk/tyres. Under the list for PAS 107 compliance, both Credential Environmental and Sapphire Energy Recovery have registered multiple sites.
Further information
Companies wishing to register their voluntary compliance with either PAS 107 or PAS 108 are still able to access the registration form on the tyres section of the WRAP website. WRAP says that the list will be regularly updated with new additions.
To find out more about the advice and resources available free from WRAP, visit www.wrap.org.uk/construction or call WRAP’s construction team on 0808 100 2040.
Working in seven key areas (Construction, Retail, Manufacturing, Organics, Business Growth, Behavioural Change, and Local Authority Support), WRAP’s work focuses on market development and support to drive forward recycling and materials resource efficiency within these sectors, as well as wider communications and awareness activities including the multi-media national Recycle Now campaign for England.
More information on all of WRAP’s programmes can be found at www.wrap.org.uk