TIA Council Creates Tyre Recycling Glossary aimed at ensuring that everyone speaks the same language in tyre terms
TIA Develops a Recycling Glossary
The Tyre Industry Association’s (TIA) Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) has introduced an easy-to-use glossary of key reference terms and definitions used in the tyre and rubber recycling industry.
The guide, which also contains terms and definitions covering other tyre segments, was developed to improve knowledge and communication and serve as a valuable resource for anyone working in the tyre recycling industry, said Dick Gust, EAC chairman.
As more businesses become concerned with sustainability, the glossary will help to define terms and technologies frequently used in the tyre recycling industry and aid state regulators when drafting rules and regulations to manage the flow of scrap tyres, he said. Tyre dealers also will find it a handy reference when dealing with customers who wish to learn more about where scrap tyres go when removed from their vehicles.
The glossary also should be of help to manufacturers who use recycled scrap tyres as a raw material in developing product and raw material specifications, Gust said.
The reference guide contains specific “core” terms that represent the foundation for scrap tyre and rubber recycling and is not meant to be inclusive. Additional terms may be added to future publications as the industry changes.
The glossary builds upon a terminology guide introduced nearly 25 years ago by the former Tyre and Rubber Recycling Advisory Council of the International Tire and Rubber Association, which later merged with the Tire Association of North America to create TIA. At the time, tyre recycling was growing in importance as various states enacted laws to better manage scrap tyre flow.
“The EAC recognised that the original guide was an excellent starting point to update the terms,” Gust said. “Since then, new technologies have developed, processing equipment has improved significantly, the value of the raw material has been found to enhance the performance of various products and the importance of sustainability has become a corporate directive. The new glossary keeps pace with those changes.”
The EAC has 12 participants from state agencies, tyre dealerships, tyre manufacturers and other industry companies. They include, in addition to Gust: Charles Astafan of CM Shredders; Farella March and Kole Kennedy of the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality; Monti Niemi of First State Recycling; Mary Sikora of Recycling Research Institute/Scrap Tyre News
Council members, including Sikora, who worked on the first terminology guide and helped research and edit the new glossary, spent 11 months working on the project before it was ready to be published, Gust said.
The glossary can be found on the TIA website, www.tyreindustry.org, under the Resources tab and the Industry Resources category.
