China and India Learn to Recycle Used Tires in Indonesia

A group of 20 delegates from the International Rubber Research and Development Board (IRRDB) visited a factory that recycles used tires into new tires (retreading) in Bogor, West Java, to learn about the process of making recycled tires.

Chairman of the Indonesian Rubber Council (Dekarindo) Aziz Pane stated that the delegation came from various countries in Asia and Africa, including Cambodia, China, Cote de Lvoire, Nigeria, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka and India.

“They come from various countries, wanting to learn,” he said, as quoted by Antara, Monday (11/18/2024).

Aziz said Indonesia was chosen as the location to learn about retreaded tire manufacturing because the industry in the country is quite advanced, considering that 20 percent of total domestic natural rubber production is used for tire manufacturing, and 9 percent of that is used for retreaded tires.

He further explained that during the delegates’ visit to the Vulkanin Jaya factory, many requests to explore trade cooperation in the sale of recycled tires were received, particularly from countries in Africa.

“They said, ‘Please, can we cooperate? But retreading is not exportable,'” he said.

Meanwhile, Faithfulness Oseiwa Oseghale, an IRRDB delegate from Nigeria, stated that their visit to Indonesia was part of a training program conducted by the international rubber organization IRRDB to increase the capacity of trainers and tire industry players in each country.

He explained that through this visit and technical training, he learned how to process used rubber tires so they can be recycled and reused for transportation purposes.

“They make rubber tires, then they can recycle the rubber tires so they can be reused. If possible, they can use them up to four times, and that’s truly innovative. It’s a challenge to implement it in our country,” he said.