“It’s a nice challenge, it’s achievable, as long as everybody plays the game.” Jean-Dominique Senard, president of the Michelin group for another year, obviously decided to put pressure on his teams before turning the page permanently. The group announced Wednesday, May 30 before the international press an ambitious plan to ensure, by 2048, that the tires Michelin 80% will be made from durable materials and 100% of the tires will be recycled.
“The tire industry is not so badly placed, says Cyrille Roget, director of communication Innovation and Michelin scientist. 70% of the tires are already collected worldwide and 50% are recycled, which is huge when compared to the plastics industry, which currently recovers only 14% of its packaging. But we think it’s not enough. You have to raise the bar “.
Michelin tires currently consist of 28% of sustainable materials (26% of bio-sourced materials such as natural rubber, sunflower oil … and 2% of recycled materials, such as steel, recycled tire powder ). It will therefore be necessary to demonstrate innovation to fill the gap in twenty years. “To achieve our goals, we develop innovative solutions in open innovation or in-house R & D,” says the equipment manufacturer. Michelin has also made strategic purchases, including LeHigh Technology, a chemical company specializing in the manufacture of micro-powder derived from recycled tires.
Many tracks for tire recycling
The distant ambitions of Bibendum also raise some questions about recycling. What to do with worn tires? “There are many solutions: recycle in the asphalt used to build roads, in shoe soles, car mats, building materials, anti-seismic constructions … We try to find more in more routes in different applications “, continues Cyrille Roget.
Finally, other locks will have to be lifted, including that of tire collection in emerging countries such as China, theIndia and Africa where everything remains to be done. “We will have to create in these countries collection circuits as we did in Europe”. The ecological ambitions of the French tire giant could come up against certain principles of reality.
Geneviève Colonna d’Istria, in Montreal