Recycling as a livelihood
Climate change, the energy transition, digitalisation and e-mobility are the major challenges of the century. Sustainable action is required precisely because these also entail new raw material requirements. In order to maintain a standard of living that corresponds to today's, our entire society must undergo a paradigm shift. Each and every one of us must play a part in moving from a throwaway economy to a circular economy and pursuing it consistently. In order to achieve this goal, research and politics are currently working on decoupling resource consumption and economic growth: raw materials must be used more efficiently, material flows must be slowed down and recycling and raw material recovery must be promoted. Recycling represents an important basis of existence for future generations and creates jobs. In the long term, circular economy products will no longer be the exception, but the rule. Every extracted or imported raw material must be used for as long as possible.
Cities and municipalities have the opportunity to actively shape this change. This is supported by the €1.8 trillion NextGenerationEU Covid19 recovery programme, which is intended not only to revive the economy but also to promote the circular economy. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made an appeal in the debate on the annual barometer on the situation of local and regional authorities on 12 October 2020:
We would like to know from you:
"The success of NextGenerationEU will depend on each and every one of you, the million local government officials in Europe. It will depend on your determination, on your ability to reinvent your area as a greener and healthier place." Not without reason: sustainability can be actively practised in local authorities. The administrations are in direct contact with the citizens. This is precisely where it is important to start and to promote and support changes in awareness and behaviour. The first and most important step is to set a good example. After all, every single person must feel that they have a role to play and make a commitment to greater sustainability, whether in the private sphere or in procurement at the workplace.
There is no alternative to recycling used tyres
Every year, 583,000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres (ELT) are produced in Germany alone. In Germany and Europe, tyres are - quite rightly - not allowed to be landfilled. The remaining alternatives are the avoidance of used tyres, which will hardly be possible at least in the medium term, reuse, for example in the form of retreading, material recycling and thermal recycling. The reuse of tyres is hardly feasible under the current economic conditions.
Used tyres as a secondary raw material
In order to avoid incineration and thus the destruction of valuable raw materials, the partners of the NEW LIFE initiative are committed to recycling used tyres: A wide range of durable products are created from ELT granulate: The versatile material serves as the basis for insulation materials and soundproofing, for sports and playground surfaces and even as an additive for rubber asphalt. Products like these are ideal for (civil engineering) construction projects in cities and municipalities. By using recycled products made from ELT, local authorities can set a good example and proactively demonstrate that they are already living sustainability today.
