Recycling is significantly more beneficial than incineration or civil engineering applications

Two comprehensive and peer-reviewed LCA studies have been done in order to analyse the environmental impacts of different treatment methods for scrap tyres: recycling versus incineration or civil engineering applications.

9 different impact categories were researched. In 8 of the 9 impact categories (among these very important categories as Global Warming Potential, Fossil Fuel and Acidification Potential) the results were significantly more beneficial in recycling compared to incineration or civil engineering applications. In 1 impact categories no difference could be measured.

Results were analysed short-term as well as long-term, and both schools within LCA studies (the consequential as well as the attributional approach) were applied in parallel.

The complete executive summaries of these LCA studies can be downloaded from the download centre to the right.