By Ben Garcia

The Salmi tire dump is a constant source of fires and pollution in Kuwait. As part of efforts to reduce and to promote the recycling of old tires, the Green Rubber Recycling company, established in 2013, creates a variety of products utilizing old tires and the rubber components from them.

Located in Amghara area, about 30 kilometers from Kuwait City, the tire recycling factory makes 100% recycled rubber tiling in brick or tile format for all types of locations including children's play places, gyms, sports arenas as well as filling for gardens, farms and elsewhere. Kuwait Times visited the factory facilities recently to learn more about the process of recycling in Kuwait.

"We supply not only the local market but also international markets such as Europe and India," said Rajiv Sharma, who is the company's business development manager. Vehicle tires include not only rubber but steel, fiber and rubber crumbs. Steel and fibers are separated out during the processing phase and then the granules of rubber crumbs will be recycled into safety flooring. The tire wheels have three distinct components; 80 percent rubber, 15 percent steel and 5 percent textile or fiber.

"We segregate the components before finally granulating the rubber. The steel we collect is taken by a steel factory in Kuwait and recycled and used; the cotton fiber is stored for termination. The crumb rubber from recycling just one truck tire weighing about 50kg can be converted into one sqm of safety tile with a thickness of 40 mm," Sharma explains.

More than one billion waste tires are generated across the planet annually and it is estimated that four billion still exist in landfills and stockpiles. These monumental accumulations of un-recycled, non-biodegradable tires are not only increasingly and becoming global environmental concern but also pose a grave danger due to their high flammability grade.

By recycling tires, they are guaranteed safe disposal and engagement in a circular economy that find new life under our feet.