Swedish Tire Recycling advances major ELT project

Gärstad, Sweden – Swedish Tire Recycling (SDAB) is establishing a ‘flagship’ recycling facility at Gärstad, Linköping with capacity to process “half of the 90,000 tons of end-of-life tires that are collected annually.”

The facility, SDAB said 9 June, will support Sweden’s goals of “increasing material recycling, creating space for new areas of use and increasing the value of the tire raw material.”

The project is linked to an SDAB scheme, with local partners, for the nationwide collection and recycling of ELT arisings, according to the Swedish recycling organisation.  

Under the scheme, started 1 Jan, new recycling facilities are being put into operation around Sweden – the largest of which is connected to the Tekniska Verken recycling centre at Gärstad.

At the plant, ELTs will be cut, shredded and granulated in a special process designed to generated raw materials that can be used in new applications.

Like SDAB, Tekniska Verken has “the goal of increasing resource utilisation and minimizing the impact on the environment,” said Fredrik Ardefors, CEO of Swedish Tire Recycling.

For Tekniska Verken, business area manager Michael Fahlström said SDAB’s operations are well in line with our own: “the handling of residual products and recycling in order to achieve our vision of building the world's most resource-efficient region.”

As an SDAB partner, Årsjö Recycling AB will be responsible for the operation of the facility in Linköping, focusing on the handling of incoming tires as well as modern production methods, the recycling body noted.

“The philosophy behind the facility is to better adapt the material to the customers' needs,” according to Ardefors.

We adapt the entire value-chain, from workshop to delivery of materials, to create function and environmental benefits in the various applications,” he explained.