In alliance with Kal Tire Recycling Chile SPA, a company that develops processes and solutions regarding this waste, we work to generate circular raw materials.

During Exponor 2024 we talked with the Sustainable Report program about the benefits of the circular economy. Along these lines, Luis Briones, Hidronor's North Zone Sales Manager, commented on the solutions and services that our company offers regarding recycling and the work together with Kal Tire Recycling Chile SPA, a company that develops innovative tools, processes and solutions for every stage of tire life, from supply and maintenance to repairs and retreading.

In this regard, Briones highlighted that “together with Kal Tire, a company with which we have been working together for more than three years, we have developed different types of services associated with industrial waste management, also supporting them in their sustainability processes. Initially we started with a solid waste line and, later, we were asked for different alternatives for liquid waste, contribution and recovery of packaging."

For his part, Rodrigo Reyes, manager of the Kal Tire Recycling Plant, commented that they have incorporated a new service that considers the recycling of discarded tires. “This initiative comes to deliver a broader range of solutions aligned with the REP Law. We began the construction of the plant in 2019, starting operation in 2021 and, currently, we are in a normal operating process, providing service and solutions, especially to management systems established by the REP Law.” 

Likewise, Emilio Fuentes, in charge of the Environment at Kal Tire, explained that “the process consists of a thermal conversion of the out-of-use tires that we receive and we obtain three products: carbon black, which can be used in the mining industry to manufacturing of new tires; alternative fuel, whose high energy value can be used as combustion within the explosives industry; and the recovered steel.”

Contribution to sustainability

Regarding working together with our company, Rodrigo Reyes explained that “we understand that having alliances with companies established within the region that have all the facilities and permits allow us to certify that, regardless of the waste that we may generate in the process, “We know that when they are valued they will be in good hands”. 

Likewise, he stated that for Kal Tire it is of utmost importance to provide solutions that are sustainable in the industry. “That is why, with this plant, we seek to contribute to the virtuous cycle of the circular economy. And from that point of view, our main objective is that the co-products that we generate within the process can have an extension or serve as raw materials for other production processes,” he stated.

Emilio Fuentes, meanwhile, assured that Kal Tire, together with Hidronor, are a real alternative for the mining area of ​​the country. “We are using this waste that is generated in large volume in the mining industry, we are generating circular raw materials.” We invite you to review the full interview in the next link.