How is it Made?

The Truth About Recycled Rubber

Recycled rubber plays a vital yet largely unseen role in in our lives. We interact with it on a daily basis and it enables us to do many of the things we love the most.

How is it Made?

Recycled rubber is produced from replaced tires through a straightforward process. There are two main ways in which this happens:

• AMBIENT SHREDDING uses powerful, interlocking knives to chop tires into smaller pieces.
• CRYOGENIC PROCESS uses liquid nitrogen to freeze them at sub-zero temperature. These cold temperatures cause the physical properties of the tire to change, and it becomes very brittle. The tire is then placed in an enclosure in which powerful hammers smash the tire apart.

The non-rubber portions of the tire are also recycled. For example, the steel beads that give the tire its shape and structure are recovered by recyclers and processed into specification grade product used by steel mills for new steel.