Collaboration gives used tyre rubber a second life in flooring products, strengthening circularity across the tyre and rubber industries
Continental has partnered with Ecore to explore the use of rubber recovered from retreaded tyres in the production of new flooring products. The collaboration aims to create a more circular pathway for tyre materials by connecting Continental’s retreading operations with Ecore’s expertise in recycled rubber flooring.
The initiative builds on Continental’s established retreading activities, which extend the useful life of truck and bus tyres by replacing worn tread and, where applicable, other components. Continental says its retreaded tyres can contain up to 85% recycled and renewable materials and can deliver significantly lower carbon emissions compared with new tyres.
Ecore specialises in recovering and transforming used rubber into new products. The company says it processes reclaimed rubber into more than 1,500 products, including athletic flooring, playground surfaces, walking paths and other specialised applications.
Under the collaboration, rubber recovered from Continental’s retreading activities can be directed into Ecore’s manufacturing processes, where it can become part of new flooring solutions. This approach helps keep valuable rubber material in productive use instead of sending it to waste streams.
The partnership also complements Continental’s broader circular-economy strategy. Its ContiLifeCycle facility in Hanover combines tyre retreading with industrial-scale rubber recycling, including the processing of vulcanised rubber into recyclate that can be incorporated into new rubber compounds.
For Ecore, the collaboration provides an additional source of reclaimed tyre rubber while supporting its goal of increasing the recovery and reuse of materials. The company uses processes that grind and clean used tyres and other rubber products before converting them into high-performance applications.
The initiative demonstrates how partnerships between tyre manufacturers and rubber-product companies can create new material pathways beyond conventional tyre-to-tyre recycling. By finding applications for recovered rubber in flooring and other products, the collaboration expands the useful life of materials already in circulation.
The development highlights the growing importance of closed-loop and circular business models in the global rubber industry, where companies are increasingly looking at ways to recover, process and reuse rubber throughout its lifecycle.