R&D Tax Concession assists tyre recycling company

Keeping tyres out of landfill

Melbourne-based company Tyre Crumb is recycling every component of tyres - the rubber, the steel and even the polyester fibre. All of these tyre elements are then crushed and used in everything from playground and sporting surfaces to carpet underlay and even shoe soles.

Tyre Crumb General Manager Steven Matousi views old tyres as a valuable resource.

“Typically, old tyres go straight to landfill or are shipped overseas,” Matousi said.

“Instead, Tyre Crumb uses a mechanical process to grind the rubber from tyres down into tiny granules.”

Matousi said his was the only company in Australia able to recycle the full range of tyres, from wheelie bins to earthmovers.

“We are constantly looking for new uses and ways to modify our machinery to extract as many elements from rubber as possible and make them into re-usable by-products,” Matousi said.

“The company prides itself on producing a powder form of granulated rubber that end users prefer because it’s so versatile.

“Given the extreme drought that is affecting large parts of Australia, the granules are now increasingly being used under synthetic grass.

Tyre Crumb is registered for AusIndustry’s R&D Tax Concession which allows companies to claim 125% of their research expenses when they lodge their tax return each year.

“Our need for research and development is essential. The added cash flow from the tax concession means we can undertake continual research projects,” Matousi said.

“Tyre Crumb recycles up to 5000 tyres per day which produces between 40 and 50 tonnes of rubber granules.”

Recently the company was asked if it could crumb innersoles from sports shoes and another request has come from a company wanting to know if they can do anything with escalator hand rails.

Matousi said that, through a process of trial and error, Tyre Crumb had built up its knowledge.

“We are constantly seeking out developing markets and constantly researching and developing new processes and systems to allow us to take on new challenges.

“Currently we are investigating how to further refine the polyester fibre we extract from tyres. We have some potential markets and hope to have the refinement process completed soon.”

Matousi said that Tyre Crumb could recalibrate its machines to recycle almost anything with rubber in it.