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Good part of the Tyres Out of use (NFU) finish being employed for the filling of this type of sportive surfaces after going through a process of valorisation

The fields of artificial grass, main destination of the granulated of rubber

David Muñoz26/03/2013

Until it does not do a lot it was quite usual to see scattered in dumps, cunetas of the roads or descampados, tyres used, whose ancient owners had not had any objection in leaving them abandoned in spite of the grave environingingmental damage that this action supposed. Fortunately, this situation has changed thank you, in good part, to the work that comes exerting during the last years the Integrated System of Gestión of Tyres Used (Signus), whose director of Operations and Logistical, gave one of the reports of Neumafórum.

Since it initiated his operations in August of 2006, Signus has managed more than one million tonnes of Tyres Out of use (NFU), what equivale to the asphalted of more than 2.000 km of roads, to 2.750 fields of artificial grass and to one million square metres of surfaces of re-create, for quoting some of the main applications that obtain with materials obtained after the valorisation of this material.

Juan Martino Married, director of Operations and Logistical in Signus.

This SIG has contributed besides to the generation and consolidation of more than 700 direct employments, has attained to give service to more than 35.000 points of generation of NFU of all the country, has achieved to integrate to 300 producers, has obtained the administrative permission in the 17 communities and in the two autonomous cities, has favoured the descent in 30% of the ecovalor that pays the consumer by the gestión of these tyres used (1,98 euros in 2006 and 1,57 euros in 2012), has developed 17 projects of R&D and 28 innovative applications and has presented for his companies adhered a Business Plan of Prevention, attaining that already in the first year 218 companies have declared measures.

In the last exercise of the that have data, 2011, this SIG managed 185.208 tonnes of tyres, in front of the 158.850 tonnes that were declared to Signus by his companies adhered, what supposes a disequilibrium of 17%. In fact, from the start of his activity, this SIG has managed 72.334 tonnes of tyres that have not paid amount of gestión (ecovalor) and that have supposed an extra outlay of 13,6 million euros. This situation comes caused by those producers that put pneumatics of replacement in the Spanish market, without holding responsible of his environingingmental gestión.

Valorisation of the residue

Of the total of tonnes managed by Signus, 10% allocated to reuse in the market of occasion or recauchutado and 90% remaining to recycling and other forms of valorisation. Specifically 48% allocated to recycling and to other forms of material valorisation and 42% to energetic valorisation (manufacture of cement and generation of electrical power). The main destination of the granulated of rubber continues being the filling in the football grounds of artificial grass with 60%, gone on down the floors of hygiene of children's playgrounds with 15% and the bituminous mixes with 7%. The market of these materials in Spain has suffered a remarkable descent had to fundamentally to the scarce public investment that has realised during these last years, although as contrapartida the companies of recycling have found new opportunities in the external market, with an increase in the exports, with regard to the past exercise, of 10%.

Stand Of Signus in Motortec Automechanika Iberian 2013.

In few years Signus has attained to convert an environingingmental problem in an opportunity since before his apparition, the tyre used was a residue without value that mostly finished in dumps. Today it is a valuable material with different uses and for this Signus has allocated important resources, investing in projects of R&D with the collaboration and help of diverse public entities and deprived of recognised prestige.