In the course of 2022, Ecopneus assured a thorough collection of ELTs all over the Italian territory and recovered 119% of its legal target.
Over 80 thousand collection missions were carried out at over 27,500 generation points all over Italy in 2022 – concrete actions that benefit society and the environment.
The ELT management system of Ecopneus demonstrated to be a case of excellence at national level also in 2022. Despite the prosecution of the pandemic and the difficulties linkedto the international crisis, Ecopneus assured an efficient and thorough collection of over 230,000 tonnes of ELTs in 2022. This concretely contributed to the development of the recycled rubber market and of the industrial chain of ELT recycling.
Ecopneus manages about 60% of the End-of-Life Tyres generated in Italy. It collects an average of 200,000 tonnes of ELTs every year all over the Italian territory: from the large cities and towns to the small mountain villages and the islands.
Its efforts are not limited to ELT collection and recovery, but they go further: Ecopneus aims at widening the range of applications of recycled rubber by stimulating and incentivising the constant improvement of processes and the products of treatment. In 2021 alone, Ecopneus invested about 2 million euros in R&D projects to favour the development of the market of recycled rubber with reference to quality of materials and expanding their sectors of application.
With regards to the collection targets set by law and calculated on the amount of tyres sold by the partner companies during the previous solar year, in 2022, Ecopneus collected 119% of its legal target, thus complying with the Ministry’s request of a + 20%.
Overall, in 2022, Ecopneus complied with over 80 thousand ELT collection requests made by over 27,500 tyre dealers, service stations and workshops of all the Italian provinces.
The General Manager of Ecopneus, Federico Dossena, stated: “Also in 2022, Ecopneus achieved important results assuring an efficient and effective management of the End-of-Life Tyres we are responsible for. In the course of the year, Ecopneus put in place all the resources at its disposal, thus assuring a thorough collection all over the Italian territory and concretely committing itself to the development of the recycled rubber market in many sectors: from the building sector, to manufacturing, to sport and infrastructures. Ecopneus concretely contributes to the global objectives of sustainability and climate change mitigation. These results have been made possible thanks to a chain composed of companies all over the national territory that collaborate with Ecopneus and invest in innovation and research. We shall accompany the companies in this process also in 2023, stimulating the development of new applications made with recycled rubber and seizing every opportunity the financial recovery may offer, working ethically and transparently at the service of our Country and the environment”
The ELT recycling system managed by Ecopneus represents a case of excellence in Italy. In the course of the years, it has brought concrete benefits to both society and the environment by strongly promoting an ever greater use of recycled rubber for many applications that are useful in our daily lives. The rubber obtained from the recycling of ELTs is, indeed, a precious and widely-used material all over the world for the creation of sports surfaces, football pitches, silent and long-lasting asphalts, and urban furniture. It is also used for energy recovery. As of today, the recycled rubber market is constantly growing. Ecopneus is concretely working on new applications by the means of constant Research and Development, such as: the chemical recycling and the applications at industrial level. Moreover, its effort in supporting and assisting the Public Administration is worth mentioning, as Ecopneus helps them in getting to know and use the innovative and sustainable solutions offered by ELT-derived recycled rubber to the advantage of Italian cities.
Thanks to the recycling activities of Ecopneus, the emissions of 310 thousand tonnes of CO2 equivalent were avoided in 2021 alone. This amount is equivalent to the emissions of 185 thousand automobiles that drive 10,000 km in a year. Moreover, there was a saving of 1.23 million m3 of water (this is the amount of water needed to fill 495 Olympic-sized swimming pools) and over 282 thousand tonnes of virgin raw materials (this compares to the weight of 575 High speed “Frecciarossa 1000” trains. These benefits are to be added to the savings linked to the reduction of imports of virgin raw materials amounting to about 79 million euros.
Collect ELT