Ford Motor.

Turning old tires into new tires, while maintaining today's exacting performance standards, is said to have been proven possible during a research program initiated by Ford Motor and Michelin. Initial tests by Michelin indicate that new tires can use up to 10% recycled content without sacrificing tire durability or driving performance. Historically, the problem with recycling old tires into new ones has been lack of a way to break down the chemical components of a tire after it is manufactured. Once rubber has been molded by heat into the shape of a tire, its chemical makeup changes dramatically, making the tire difficult to reuse. Ford worked with another supplier last spring on a patented process that breaks down the rubber in old tires for use in a plastic that can be molded into vehicle parts. After this proved successful, Ford asked Michelin to investigate the similar, though difficult challenge, of breaking down rubber to create reusable rubber compounds. Michelin is working on refining the tire formulation, planning manufacturing processes and beginning long-term durability and quality testing in a Michelin evaluation fleet of Ford vehicles. Ford and Michelin estimate that recycling scrap tires back into new tires at this rate could cut the number going into landfills by approximately 30 million annually, or another 12%.