Page 78 - Vaculug Sustainable Report 2022

Another key element in the journey into sustainability is the replacement of raw materials deriving from petroleum with bio-based renewable raw materials. For instance, the Company is reducing the use of oiIs and resins deriving from petroleum and replacing them with ingredients of natural origin such as soybean oil and pine resin. In this way, new product line with high percentage of sustainable compound and materials has been designed and developed; it will be launched in the next future.
On top of that particular focus is put on one of
the main components of the tyres as well - Natural Rubber. Natural Rubber is a completely renewable material, and it is mainly produced only in certain areas of the planet, equatorial zone.
Vaculug is committed the conservation of forests and biodiversity by collaborating with suppliers which distribute worldwide internationally, reducing therefore the impact in some areas of the world (Malaysia, lndonesia, Thailand) where natural rubber is normally bought.
Over and above that, another element which would be crucial and has to be sustainably managed is tyre waste as it is not possible to erase totally the generation of tyre waste during the production.
For instance, an idea has to be put in this field aiming to improve the production processes performance, prevent waste generation and keep it as low as possible, consequently reducing also the materials be to disposed. In other words, it may impact positively economic and environmental point of view.
END-OF-LIFE TYRES
Vaculug is strongly committed to create sustainable life cycle of tyres, developing therefore innovative and sustainable approach in which the goal is to reduce resource waste as well as recover as much as possible energy and materials during their life cycle.
Tyres that are no longer sufficiently safe or efficient to be reused, even if retreaded, are referred as “end-of-life tyres” (here in after referred as ELTs) which are practically wastes.
ELTs can pose a serious threat to the environment and have to be collected and recovered with specific methods, as the rubber of tyre is made of a mix of very high-quality polymers with exceptional chemical-physical characteristics which remain unaltered even in the recycled rubber obtained from it. It is possible to channel ELTS towards one of two different processes: they can be either recycled, a process where it is possible to obtain new materials or recovered as energy.
As a tyre manufacturing company, Vaculug has a particular sensibility for environment. The Company pays great attention to both the sustainability of
all production processes along the entire value chain and to the product disposal and recyclability. In line with its inspiration for SDG “9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure”, “12 Responsible Consumption and Production”, “17 Partnerships for the Goals”, together with local initiative which collaborates with, Vaculug is committed to produce tyres that can have a “second life”.
Our retread policy can reduce tyre waste by up to 50%, whilst generating 70% less carbon dioxide than a new tyre.
To this end, the Company cooperates strictly with suppliers who produce raw materials from ELTs, such as micronized reclaim rubber and recovered carbon black, as well as with organizations dedicated to ELT recovery. Thanks to the Company’s tyre formulations containing these materials and the goal to increase their presence
as much as possible, Vaculug continues to offer
high performance tyres in terms both of quality and safety at the same time. Moreover, the use of these materials can provide for an opportunity to contribute to the creation of a circular economy as well as reduction of the CO2 emissions.
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