Reuse of Tires Textile Fibers in Plastic Compounds: Is this Scenario Environmentally Sustainable?

Even if specific directives have been issued to regulate the management of End of Life Tires (ELT), several materials are still not properly recovered. This is the case of textile fibers obtained from the treatment of ELTs. This study aims to investigate and quantify the environmental impacts related to the reuse of tires textile fibers as second-life material for the preparation of plastic compounds. The Life Cycle Assessment methodology has been used to compare the baseline scenarios (landfilling and incineration) with the reuse scenarios. Results obtained confirms that reuse scenarios are generally more environmental sustainable than the currently implemented strategies.