Bridgestone and
The world's two largest tire companies have worked with stakeholders across the tire and rubber value chain in the journey toward material circularity.
The white paper follows a position paper, released earlier this year, on the companies' joint initiative to increase the use of recovered carbon black.
Following the joint call to action around recovered carbon black at the 2021 Smithers rCB[1] conference,
In 2022, the two companies released a position paper focused on the joint initiative to increase the use of recovered carbon black. The position paper outlined the reasoning behind this important call to action and the goals that Bridgestone and
Bridgestone and
Globally, one billion tires, representing around 30 million tons of material, are estimated to reach the end of their useful service life every year. Many of the technical challenges surrounding the use of recycled and recovered materials from end-of-life tires are understood, but there remain significant market barriers to achieving material circularity at the scale necessary to realize material circularity in tires. Today, fewer than 1% of all carbon black material used globally in new tire production comes from recycled end-of-life tires, due to a sub-optimal supply chain for the recovery and reuse of carbon black.
Recovered carbon black presents an opportunity to reduce the tire industry's reliance on petrochemicals by replacing a portion of traditional carbon black with a sustainable and circular alternative without introducing performance compromises. Additionally, using recovered carbon black in new tire production can reduce CO2 emissions in new tire production by up to 85% compared to virgin materials.
'No one company can deliver the supply chain advancements necessary to achieve our shared aim of a more sustainable and circular tire economy,' said Marco Musaio, Head of
'The shift from a linear value chain to a circular one presents a crucial challenge necessitating a shift in mindset and increased adaptability. The partnership between Bridgestone and
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