MASONTOWN, W.Va. — Preston County-based Bionic Tire Recycling says it’s brought a solution to a serious environmental problem to West Virginia: the ability to recycle and repurpose old tires.
Bionic Tire COO Tim Davis said they have 22 employees who begin the process of breaking down the tires. Davis said the only parts of the old tires not suitable to be reused are those that have been damaged by the sun, or are dry rotted or have been partially damaged by fire.
“The steel goes back into recycling, we recycle the rubber, and we make sure that all of the polyester belting, the textile material, comes out and goes to another place for recycling or use,” Davis said on WAJR’s “Talk of the Town” Monday.
The Masontown location is now a regional spot for a variety of companies to dispose of old tires. Davis said deliveries arrive during normal business hours, and the volume of tires has given an opportunity to create multiple work shifts.
“We get a lot of tires from retailers, trucking companies, and sanitation companies,” Davis said. “Not only in West Virginia but in surrounding states, so yes, there are a lot of tires that come in.”
Tire recycling made a great leap forward when a company called Eco Green developed purpose-built machines to break the tires down. Davis noted that their procedures and the Eco Green equipment allow them to reach about 99 percent recycling efficiency.
“It was meant for breaking down garbage or breaking down computers, construction waste, and that type of thing,” Davis said. “But Eco Green is made specifically to break down rubber.”
The primary product made in Masontown is a 4mm pellet used in playgrounds across the country. The pellets are used to make a smooth, durable surface for playgrounds that requires little or no maintenance.
“They pour it, screed it, and trowel it just like concrete so that surface is one piece,” Davis said. “It can’t be mitigated or migrated away by a thunderstorm or microburst or taken home in Billy’s pockets.”
Davis said they have plans to add compression and extrusion molding capabilities. The molding machines will allow the company to build things like parking bumpers, speed bumps, and even barriers that are commonly used in highway construction. There are even more uses similar to the playground application as soon as pavement design mixes could be approved for experimental or permanent paving uses.
“Hopefully, West Virginia comes up with a rubber-modified asphalt recipe so this rubber can be in our roads,” Davis said. “We also hope to have one of those compression molders to be able to make paving tiles, bricks, and all types of things that are compressed rubber products.”