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A RECYCLED PRODUCT MADE FROM MARKET-APPROVED TYRES

All Genan rubber products are guaranteed to be made with nothing but end-of-life tyres (ELT) as source material.

At our factory in Houston, Texas, only worn-down tyres approved for the US market are used as feedstock. At our plants in Denmark, Germany and Portugal, only end-of-life tyres approved for the European market are processed.

Although we don’t know exactly how many tyres of each type and brand we process each day, we know that all tyres recycled comply with the regulations in force at the time they were placed on the market.

Genan rubber powders and granulates are thus very well documented products.

SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS

Rubber powder and granulate from end-of-life tyres is used in various applications where it is exposed to the public. Best known application is infill in artificial turf pitches.

In recent years, there has been quite an extensive media coverage of rubber infill – especially with focus on Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their potential carcinogenic effects.

Numerous scientific studies have addressed this issue; and globally, more than 70 studies based on experimental data have been carried out, concluding that there is no significant or scientifically justified risk associated with the use of rubber granulate made from end-of-life tyres.

BUT WHAT IS PAH – AND WHICH REGULATIONS APPLY WITHIN THE EU?

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons – or PAHs for short – are a group of chemicals which occur naturally in coal, crude oil and petrol. In the production of new tyres, they are added as plasticizers.

Eight specific PAHs commonly used for the manufacture of tyres have been identified as posing a potential health risk in high concentrations.

As early as in 2010, the EU REACH regulation consequently introduced a limit of 10 mg/kg as the maximum content for the sum of these 8 PAHs – to apply to all new tyres placed on the EU market, be they manufactured in Europe or imported from overseas.

Since then, there has been an ongoing discussion about the content of these 8 PAH substances in rubber from end-of-life tyres.

Realistically taking into consideration the time it would take to phase out tyres manufactured prior to 2010 and thus already in use in the market, the ECHA Risk Assessment Committee (RAC) – as well as the Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC) – recommended a maximum limit of 20 mg/kg in rubber from end-of-life tyres.

The suggested 20 mg/kg limit was later adopted by the European Parliament on 20 July 2021.

Good and sustainable eco-design works long term; and the PAH content in ELT rubber produced by Genan is now far below this 20 mg/kg limit.