CATRA Report Showcases Tire Recycling in Canada

The 2019 Annual Report for the Canadian Association of Tire Recycling Agencies (CATRA) provides a snapshot of Canada’s tire recycling industry in 2019 and showcases strategic initiatives that define Canada’s tire recycling industry.

The report features significant achievements of member agencies in 2019 and cumulatively since the inception of their programs. CATRA consists of recycling agencies from all 10 provinces as well as the Yukon territory.

In 2018 (latest data year) there were over 487,000 tons of end-of-life tires recycled for a diversion rate exceeding 100%, or over 13 kilograms per Canadian.

Member programs provided a combined investment of over $169 million, creating economic development and jobs for Canadians diverting material from landfills or stockpiles that no longer poses a significant environmental nor human health threat.

Canada’s provincial and territorial stewardship programs ensure that tire collection remains in step with annual population growth, increases in winter tire purchases, and clean-ups of end-of-life tires previously unavailable for collection.

Over the past 20 years, Canada has made steady progress by investing in research and technology, and now has a highly developed tire recycling infrastructure, that, together with the provincial tire recycling programs continues to shape and support Canada’s crumb rubber, molded products, tire-derived aggregate and tire derived fuel industries.

Because of ongoing investments in infrastructure and R&D, the number of tires recycled into high-value, tire-derived products and materials continues to grow year over year, helping to further Canada’s scrap-tire circular economy. In 2018, approximately 60 percent of the tires collected across the country were recycled into molded products and crumb rubber.

A key component of the report provides details, ongoing progress and results of initiatives undertaken in several provinces to further advance scrap tire recycling and repurposing.

Among the highlights The Alberta Recycling Management Authority completed a multi-year project to evaluate the performance of tire derived aggregate (TDA) as a leachate collection material in Alberta landfills.

The results of the study support TDA use in leachate drainage blankets. A technical bulletin has been published providing insight into TDA performance and how it compares to conventional gravel drainage layers.

In Quebec, RECYC-QUÉBEC completed a research project conducted in collaboration with Laval University and Phoenix Innovation Technology that produced thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) blends of recycled polyethylene and recycled rubber particles. RECYC-QUÉBEC also launched two new grant programs. The first applies to R&D programs for product and market development and the second to lift tire processing.

In Nova Scotia, Divert NS and Lafarge Brookfield partnered to pilot a tire-derived fuel (TDF) project which resulted in tires being used as TDF providing an alternative to coal as fuel for cement manufacturing.

Each year, CATRA initiates several projects of common interest to its Members. In 2019, CATRA launched Phase1of a significant project expected to have broad implications for tire recycling in Canada. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) project is developing a working model to assess the environmental implications of scrap tire management across Canada.

Eight CATRA Members are participating in Phase 1 and the final reports – national and by member agencies – are expected in the first quarter of 2020. The LCA is designed to assist with decision making to evaluate environmental issues for the various recycling methods and markets, CATRA Program Manager Bob Ferguson said.

Working on the premise that “data is king” with decision makers, Ferguson said that for 2020, CATRA will continue to survey its members and build a tire recycling industry database with 10 years of information to determine trends and help identify opportunities for the development of new markets and recycling methods.

© Scrap Tire News, June 2020