Apollo Tyres Goes the Distance Sustainably

Indian tire maker launches program to use recycled tire rubber in sports fields

Calling them ‘Go The Distance’, Apollo Tyres is showcasing two new sports fields (pitches) in Chennai and Pune, India that use repurposed rubber from their own tires.

Apollo Tyres has been working towards a sustainable model to create access to sports and fitness as one of the many initiatives the company is taking as part of its corporate sustainability commitment, Satish Sharma, President, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (APMEA), Apollo Tyres Ltd said, “These Go The Distance pitches have a two-fold objective — towards a sustainable future and ‘access to sports’ for the youth from the local communities, where they can test out and hone their sporting skills,” Sharma said.

Each 160 feet x 90 feet football pitch uses rubber derived from 1,500 car tires (about 7.500 kg). The tires are shredded into usable crumb rubber to layer the pitches. The first such ‘Go The Distance’ pitch was opened near the North Stand of the iconic Old Trafford in Manchester, home of Apollo Tyres’ partner Manchester United Football Club.

Apollo Tyres has partnered with HotFut Sports Infrastructure Pvt Ltd to create and manage the pitches in India. As of now, eleven venues are operational with twenty pitches in Manchester (UK), Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Mumbai. Four more venues will be coming up in the next few months in north and east regions of the country, the company said.

The creation of such pitches has enabled several integrations like the Apollo Tyres United We Play program with Manchester United Soccer Schools, Youth Leagues with HotFut, and several other grassroots development initiatives.

© Scrap Tire News, April 2022