Wastefront inks deal to establish UK tire recycling plant 

Sunderland, UK – Norwegian waste tire recycling company Wastefront AS has signed a deal with Sunderland City Council to establish of an end-of-life tire (ELT) recycling plant in the city’s port area. 

The plant will convert locally-sourced ELT waste into commodities, including liquid hydrocarbon fuels and carbon black for use in applications including tires, water filtration, printer ink, paint and cosmetics, said the company

At full-scale, the unit will operate 12 catalytic pyrolysis reactors and have a daily capacity to process 180 tonnes of ELT waste. Carbon black capacity is expected to reach 60 tonnes/day, and liquid hydrocarbons output 90 tonnes/day.

Heat generated from Wastefront’s Port of Sunderland operation will be repurposed locally within industry or can also be used to heat residential homes. 

The unit is expected to be fully up-and-running in the second half of 2022, with up to 30 full-time employees, added a statement issued 21 Aug by Wastefront.

The company said it will raise investment from UK, Nordic and International investors in Q1 2021, in order to facilitate the construction of the plant.  

Wastefront recently received funding from the Norwegian state-owned company and national development bank, Innovation Norway and it is supported by government agency, The Research Council of Norway.

“Construction of our first ever plant with the Port of Sunderland marks a huge step in Wastefront’s efforts to combat the global issue of ELT waste,” said Wastefront’s chief strategy officer, director and co-founder Christian Hvamstad, who is also an alumnus of the University of Sunderland,  

“The UK is a global centre of industry which we want to be a part of, while Sunderland is the ideal location for our first plant due to geographical location, access to feedstock, strong local support and Sunderland’s history as an industrial city,” added Hvamstad.