Cradle to grave life cycle assessment of retreaded truck tyres: an industrial case study in Italy

The transition to climate-neutrality by 2050 requires decarbonizing mobility and among the different materials used in this sector there is the urgent need to decarbonize tyres. Despite the problems related to the recycling of tyres, retreading is a technology already available on the market that, prolonging the useful service life of tyres, allows considerable environmental advantages. However, its diffusion is still limited and concentrated in the truck sector with a decreasing trend in the last decade. This study presents for the first time a cradle to grave Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) that compares the environmental performance of two product systems, i.e. retreaded truck tyres and virgin truck tyres. The study is based on primary data, when available, and on secondary data or estimations, when necessary. The results show that retreading allows a considerable reduction in the environmental impact of tyres: up to 50 % in the climate change impact category, 52 % in the fossil fuels consumption, 49 % in the consumption of natural resources, 55 % in the water use, 37 % in the PM 10 emission and 10 % in the PM 2.5 emissions. Moreover, retreading allows for a reduction up to 46 % in the use of natural rubber (EU is 100 % import-reliant on this material). These findings highlight the urgent need for policies that can promote the diffusion of retreading on a larger scale in case of truck tyres and that support the creation of a dedicated supply chain for the retreading of car tyres.