• June 25, 2012
• By Kerri Jansen

A new tire recycling facility in Harlingen, Texas, is using technology imported from Europe to turn whole tires into biofuel and steel, reportedly with less waste than most American tire recycling plants.

Tire Recycling & Processing is able to recycle 100% of the tire, instead of burying some waste in landfills, The Brownsville (Texas) Herald reported. The facility is the first of its kind in Texas, and maybe in the country, Marta Martinez, vice president of the company, told the Herald.

Starting July 1, German-made process machines at the plant will break down tires into rubber crumbs, fiber, powder and steel wire. After the wire is separated with magnets, the rest will be melted at a high temperature to produce biofuel, according to the article.

One passenger car tire produces one gallon of biodiesel, the article indicates. Some systems at the plant will be run off the gas they produce, minimizing the facility's emissions.

Texas produces 32 million waste tires per year, according to the article. Martinez told the Herald that she hopes the facility will be able to accept tires from Mexico in the future.

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