From 27 to 29 September 2023, the NEW LIFE at the KGSt Forum fresh ideas for the sustainable city of the future in Hamburg. High quality Recycled products made from tyre rubber granulate open up new scope for planners and architects when planning and designing urban living spaces. The more than 4,000 trade visitors were particularly interested in customisable fall protection surfaces for the construction and renovation of children's playgrounds, the NEW LIFE learning portal for schools and asphalt modified with recycled rubber for municipal road construction.

For over 20 years, binding agents for road construction have increasingly been modified with new polymers. These can be sustainably replaced by rubber powder made from recycled old tyres, which is perfect for modifying road construction bitumen and asphalt in accordance with E GmBA. Adding five to ten per cent recycled rubber powder to the binder improves road quality, lowers maintenance costs and helps to reduce road noise.

The addition of recycled rubber powder (normally less than 1 mm) sustainably improves the quality of roads. Rutting is prevented, as is cracking due to climatic influences. The rubber modification of asphalt and bitumen extends the temperature window within which roads are elastic and therefore resistant to the effects of heat and cold.

The construction sector is responsible for around 38 per cent of global CO2 emissions. Natural resources for traditional building materials are finite. Increasing soil sealing has a negative impact on flora, fauna and the climate. Climate-friendly sustainability is therefore of central importance for planning the liveable city of tomorrow. The use of climate-friendly building materials and recycled products plays a decisive role in the sustainable realisation of new urban development projects.

Keeping high-quality raw materials in a sustainable cycle

Recycling used tyres helps to keep valuable materials in the cycle, avoid waste, conserve natural resources and achieve the climate targets of the Green Deal. Around 75 per cent of used tyres consist of rubber, which is granulated in an environmentally friendly way and processed into high-quality recycled products. In 2021, over 40 percent of the approximately 538,000 tonnes of used tyres in Germany were recycled. Every tonne of used tyres that is recycled (and not incinerated) saves around 700 kg of CO₂-emissions. The more recycled products made from tyre rubber granulate are used in architecture and urban development, the better for the climate, people and the environment.

The weatherproof, durable recycled products can be used in a variety of ways in architecture and urban planning. With their individual shapes and colours, they open up new design freedom for the liveable city of tomorrow and also quickly pay for themselves economically, as they are low-maintenance, easy to clean, weatherproof and extremely durable.