While the whole world seems focused only on tailpipe emissions when it comes to creating a more environmentally-friendly way of getting around, other are looking at the big picture. It’s not enough to curb tailpipe emissions and Goodyear seems to know it well enough. That’s why the tire manufacturer decided to become the first in its industry to deliver a tire made of 100% sustainable materials by 2030.
To that end, the company managed to make great strides forward and, at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, it unveiled a tire made of 70 percent sustainable materials. That’s an industry-leading level right now, most other tire compounds including a maximum of 30 percent. Since tires are a really big issue when it comes to recycling, this is definitely a move in the right direction.
“We set an ambitious goal in 2020 to create a tire made 100% from sustainable materials in 10 years, and our scientists and engineers have made great progress toward that goal,” said Chris Helsel, senior vice president, global operations and chief technology officer at Goodyear. “This is an exciting achievement that demonstrates our commitment to increasing the use of sustainable materials in our tires.”
This new mix includes no less than 13 ingredients, spread across nine different tire components. According to Goodyear’s research, this mix of ingredients delivers strong overall tire performance. Among those ingredients you’ll find three different carbon blacks that are made from methane, carbon dioxide and plant-based oil as well as soybean oil that helps keep a tire’s rubber compound pliable in changing temperatures. Using soybean oil reduces the use of petroleum-based products and tire manufacturers like Goodyear don’t need premium oil but just the surplus that nobody wants, thus reducing the environmental impact even more.
Other ingredients used include a unique variety of silica, made from rice husk ash (a byproduct of rice processing that is often discarded and put into landfills) as well as technical grade polyester from recycled plastic bottles and other plastic waste.
