Podcasts Technology What’s Treading with Tire Review Tires Made Out of Tires? And Plants? Bridgestone Talks Guayule Rubber, Circular Economy

Tires Made Out of Tires? And Plants? Bridgestone Talks Guayule Rubber, Circular Economy

Published: May 19, 2022, 3:35 p.m.

b"Now more than ever, going green is permeating the industry. Automakers are required to meet certain sustainability requirements, which means everything that goes into creating a vehicle\\u2013ahem, the tires\\u2013are held to higher sustainability targets, too. Just ask Bridgestone, whose goal is to have 100% carbon neutrality and 100% renewable resources in its tires by 2050. So, how are they going to achieve that?

Slowly but surely, the foundation for a more sustainable future is being laid out as you read this. Here\\u2019s just one example: For more than a decade, Bridgestone has been researching the guayule plant to use as a domestic source of natural rubber, and now the first Firestone Firehawk race tire made with guayule natural rubber (grown and extracted at the company\\u2019s guayule R&D facilities in Arizona) will debut at this year\\u2019s Indy 500 on May 29.

Just last month, the company partnered with LanzaTech, a carbon capture and transformation company, to co-develop the first dedicated end-of-life tire recycling process. To learn more about Bridgestone\\u2019s guayule research and end-of-life tire recycling initiatives, we spoke with Bill Niaura, director of sustainable materials and circular economy for Bridgestone Americas Technology Center. In this episode of What\\u2019s Treading with Tire Review, presented by AAPEX, Bill dives into why Bridgestone is investing in these various sustainability initiatives and how creating a circular economy is in the tiremaker's future.

EPISODE OVERVIEW
- An update on Bridgestone\\u2019s research into guayule natural rubber (1:00)
- Why tiremakers are investing in alternate sources of natural rubber (2:11)
- How Bridgestone and LanzaTech will work together on end-of-life tire recycling and how the carbon transformation process starts from the guy of a rabbit (8:33)
- How Bridgestone\\u2019s relationship with its dealers will help its sustainability goals trickle down the tire industry (14:15)

More on Bridgestone's sustainability goals: https://www.bridgestone.com/corporate/news/2021062901.html

More on AAPEX: www.aapexshow.com

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