Recycling Waste Tyres in Pakistan |
Vehicles are among the most fascinating innovations of our modern times. It reduces the distance between us and plays an important role in convenient travelling, both within the city and outside. According to Gallup Pakistan, the total number of vehicles in the country was over 35 million in 2023-24, where a lion’s share of vehicles, close to 30 million, were motorcycles & scooters, whereas the remaining were motor cars. Now imagine, if each of the vehicle owners must fix a new tyre once a year, Pakistan would generate 35 million waste tyres each year. Increasing the tyre change frequency to twice a year would make Pakistan produce 70 million waste tyres per year. Over a decade’s time, Pakistan would produce roughly 350 million to 700 million waste tyres that would eventually end up in landfills and form mountains of waste tyres. In 20 years, the cumulative waste tyres in Pakistan would be between 700 million and 1.4 billion tyres. We cannot afford such a thing to happen in Pakistan, and thus, we must find a sustainable solution for waste tyres in the country. Do you know that Kuwait was once home to one of the world’s largest tyre graveyards containing over 42 million waste tyres? It was a serious environmental issue for Kuwait as periodic large fires emitted noxious black smoke that bothered the residents and deteriorated the environment. We must learn from Kuwait and do all it takes to avoid the formation of another one of the world’s largest tyre graveyards in Pakistan. We have what it takes to recycle waste tyres, use them as a source to power other sectors, and form waste tyre-based new products in Pakistan.
Do you know that Kuwait was once home to one of the world’s largest tyre graveyards containing over 42 million waste tyres?
Do you know that Kuwait was once home to one of the world’s largest tyre graveyards containing over 42 million waste tyres?
New Zealand can offer us a valuable example in this regard. As per a report by KPMG and the Ministry for the Environment (New Zealand), the country produces roughly 5 million waste tyres each year. The Government of New Zealand’s website points out that end-of-life tyres are an environmental issue for the country. The waste tyres caused a risk of fires, leaked contaminants, spoiled the landscape and became a breeding base for rodents and insects. To mitigate all these problems, the Government of New Zealand then decided to initiate a nationwide waste tyre collection and shredding operation that could then facilitate the use of waste tyres in the cement manufacturing industry. Do you know that Golden Bay Cement is New Zealand’s fifth biggest emitter of greenhouse gases? Do you know that Golden Bay Cement (GBC) relied on rubber biofuel from shredded waste tyres instead of coal and reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 13,000 tonnes each year? The Government of New Zealand’s website highlights further that an existing steel in the waste tyres fulfils the iron supplies of cement, whereas rubber acts as an energy alternative for coal. Fletcher Building, the owner of Golden Bay Cement (GBC), stresses further that GBC consumes 3.1 million shredded waste tyres, thus preventing them from ending up in landfills. The use of rubber biofuel in GBC has reduced reliance on coal by 15% and has even reduced the usage of iron sand by 5000 tonnes in cement manufacturing. If the already discussed solution can work for New Zealand, it can work for Pakistan as well.
According to the World Bank (WB), the cement manufacturing industry generates roughly 1 per cent of Pakistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) each year. It relies solely on coal as the primary source of energy, accounts for 65 – 70% of industrial coal consumption and acts as a direct source of 49% of Pakistan’s coal-based emissions. Thus, even a minor dent in the emissions curve from the cement sector will help Pakistan in bending its overall greenhouse gas emission curve. Altogether, the cement sector in Pakistan comprises 16 operational companies with 27 operational plants. Now imagine if in a decade’s time, all these 16 operational companies with 27 operational plants would use 40% shredded tyres in cement production. By doing so, the cement manufacturing sector in Pakistan could reduce its reliance on coal by 40%, lessen greenhouse gas emissions and usage of iron sand by a few thousand tonnes each year. If GBC in New Zealand can, so can cement manufacturing plants in Pakistan too. There is a dire need for the Government of Pakistan to collect waste tyres across the length and breadth of Pakistan and shred them with the help of shredding plants. The resulting rubber biofuel can then help our cement sector in bending its greenhouse gas emission curve. It is possible for us, and we have what it takes to make it happen in Pakistan.
In South Africa, Mathe Group (Pty) Ltd removes steel from waste tyres and then transforms them into desired sizes through a grinding process. The product formed is referred to as rubber crumb and can be used as a sustainable material in road construction. Mathe Group (Pty) Ltd points out that roads made from the combination of rubber crumb and bitumen asphalt are more resistant to deformation under high temperatures and offer better flexibility at lower temperatures. In addition, roads made through blending in rubber crumb with bitumen asphalt reduce the amount of waste tyres ending up in landfills and decrease the cumulative carbon footprint of the road construction sector. Now is the time for the Government of Pakistan (GOP) to try this idea in Pakistan. If it can work in South Africa, it can work in Pakistan too. Initially, the GOP can construct a single road as a pilot project in Pakistan and observe its performance over the span of a year in comparison with conventional roads in the country. If the already stated findings turn out to be true, the GOP can then construct multiple roads across Pakistan using the rubber crumb and bitumen asphalt method. In a decade’s time, we should aim to construct all roads in Pakistan using a mixture of rubber crumb and bitumen asphalt. We have what it takes to make this happen.
The writer is a Stockholm-based policy analyst and the Founder / Operations Manager of Project Green Earth (www.projectge.org). He can be reached at aubhameedi@yahoo.com.