WHO WE ARE
Rubber Conversion is committed to recovering rubber-derived materials in environmentally sound manner, thanks to its innovative and licensed devulcanization process. By bringing production-offcuts, post-production and post-consumer rubber waste into the loop in a sustainable way and therefore minimizing waste significantly, Rubber Conversion incorporates sustainable development drivers into the entire tire industry and beyond.
The cruciality of natural rubber for European tire and rubber industry is expressed in the revised Critical Raw Materials list in 2020, which reaffirms its economic importance and the need for supply diversification. This solution applies not only to the material recovery challenge, but also to the problem of restrictions against landfills disposal and other challenges connected with difficulties in obtaining suitable products to be sold in the market as secondary raw materials.
Rubber Conversion has been recognized as the most promising method to reuse the ELT-derived rubber in high-quality products, and its breakthrough devulcanization technology has been awarded by the Circular Economy Network (2018) and by the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in UK with Keynes Sraffa Award (2019).
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
LIFE GREEN VULCAN
This project aims at offering a new solution for reusing rubber at the end of its life.
Reclaimed rubber from End- of-Life Tires (ELTs) and other rubber waste are used in very low concentrations in tire manufacturing (3-5%) due to technical constraints.
The team of this promising project, coordinated by Innovando S.r.l intends to increase the reuse rate of rubber waste by implementing an innovative and environmentally friendly devulcanization technology.
Project LIFE GREEN VULCAN is presented by a consortium of companies consisting of Bridgestone Europe NV / SA, Stellantis S.p.A., Rubber Conversion S.r.l., University of Trento and Innovando S.r.l. The LIFE GREEN VULCAN project has received funding from the LIFE Programme of the European Union (LIFE19 ENV/ IT/000213).
RE-SHOES
The implementation of innovative solutions offered by Rubber Conversion goes beyond tyre and automotive sectors. Fashion industry is also redefining its growth by exploring the potentials of circular business models, which have massive potential to become mainstream.
THE PROBLEM
Italy is the leading footwear manufacturer in the European Union, with a total annual turnover of around 14 billion euros*. Nevertheless, today there are almost no solutions to recover and recycle the shoes once they reach the end-of- their useful life stage. The most important environmental challenge of the footwear industry is the huge amount of waste generated in the end-of-life phase, with most of the shoes being disposed of in landfills: in recent years the fast-fashion trend has further worsened the situation. Less than 5% of the 24 billion pairs of shoes produced per year are recycled or reused, the rest goes to landfills or it stays stored in closets for years.**
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*Data for 2020, source Assocalzaturifici Confindustria Moda
** Source World Footwear 2019
THE SOLUTION
RE-SHOES is promoted by a consortium of companies, including Rubber Conversion, who gathered around a common goal: to create an opportunity for recycling and material recovery in a sector where waste generated at the end-of-life phase is very high. The project was presented within the European LIFE program and has successfully passed the first selection phase for admission to the European Union contribution, and will be submitted to the second approval phase during the 2022.
Mission and values
We serve manufacturers of rubber items with innovative, devulcanized rubber compounds, manufactured in post-production and post-consumer rubber. By reducing raw material costs and improving carbon and material impact, our commitment to material recycling and upcycling helps knowledgeable companies improve product sustainability and profitability.
