EULIFE+EnvironmentPolicyandGovernance

LIFE09ENG/GR/304ROADTIRE
Integrationofendoflifetiresinthelifecycleofroadconstruction

Deliverable3.3.1

SWOTANALYSIS

ScuolaSuperioreSantAnna(SSSUP)

TABLEOFCONTENTS
1. 2. 3. OBJECTIVEOFTHESTUDY ................................................................................................................................ 3 SWOTANALYSIS:THEORIGINS ......................................................................................................................... 3 SWOTMETHODOLOGYAPPLIEDTOELTSSUPPLYCHAIN ................................................................................... 4

3.1.BACKGROUND................................................................................................................................................... 4 3.2.METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................................ 4 4. 5. SELECTIONOFOPINIONLEADERSOFTHEELTSSUPPLYCHAINSECTOR.............................................................. 6 CONSTRUCTIONOFTHEALTERNATIVESANDEXPRESSIONOFTHEEVALUATIONS .............................................. 7 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 DECISIONNODE1:TREATMENTTECHNOLOGIESOFELTS ................................................................................................ 8 DECISIONNODE2:DESTINATIONOFTHETREATEDELTSMATERIAL.................................................................................. 13 DECISIONNODE3:ECONOMICSUPPORTALTERNATIVESFORTHEELTSMANAGEMENTSUPPLYCHAIN ..................................... 19 DECISIONNODE4:NONECONOMICINCENTIVESTOTHEDEVELOPMENTOFTHEELTSMANAGEMENTSUPPLYCHAIN................. 22

6.EVALUATIONPROCESS........................................................................................................................................ 27 7.SWOTMETHODOLOGYRESULTSTOELTSALTERNATIVERECOVERYCASESFORTHECASEOFGREECE.................... 36 8.DISCUSSION ....................................................................................................................................................... 37 9.CONCLUSIONS.................................................................................................................................................... 38 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................................... 39

1. Objectiveofthestudy
This SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) on the End of Life Tires (ELTs) supply chain was carried out in the context of the Project ROADTIRE LIFE09/ENV/GR/000304, supported by LIFE + ProgramEnvironmentPolicy&Governance,in20092011(www.roadtire.eu). ThemainobjectiveoftheprojectistopromotetheuseofELTsintheconstructionandmaintenanceofroad pavements, mainly in Greece but also in Italy, with the target of both reducing the environmental impacts duetothe(landfill)disposalortothetemporarystockpilingandimprovingtheenvironmentalandtechnical performancesoftheroadconstructionsector. This SWOT analysis is focused on the Italian and Greek ELTs supply chain scenario and is aimed at analyzing the potential capability of development of the ELTs recovery chain towards a correct and sustainable management system, through reliable valorization processes, both in material recycling and energy recovery. The outcome of this research is to provide the best available solutions on potential problems facedbytherecyclingsystemsinbothcountries. In fact, while the installed treatment capacity (grinding and granulating) of ELTs in Italy is well above the need required by the generated amount of ELTs, the final recovery opportunities for the obtained materials arestillrelativelypoor,resultinginaproblematicmanagementofthewholesupplychain. Currently in Italy, energy recovery is the first ELTs destination, both in national plants and abroad, while the material recycling is still somewhat limited, mainly to traditional sectors, such as sport fields, engineering applications, rubber manufactured products, etc. More alarming, is the 26% of ELTs with unknown destination,forwhichanurgentsolutionisneeded. The aim of the SWOT analysis is therefore to investigate on how the different aspects of the chain, technological, economic, regulatory and organizational, are perceived by the ELTs chain stakeholders, in ordertoidentifythemosteffectivedevelopmentstrategytoclosetherecoverychain. Dueto thelargeheterogeneityofstakeholdersoperatingin thesector, weoptedfor theinvolvementof the relevant category associations and of those consortia established by the tires producers and importers in ordertocomplywiththeextendedproducerresponsibilityprinciple,whichhasbeenintroducedbyart.228 D.Lgs152/2006andenforcedin2011,byDM82/2011.

2. SWOTanalysis:theorigins
SWOTanalysis (Strengths,Weaknesses,Opportunities,Threats)isalargelydiffusedmethodologyinthefield of strategic consultancy for the identification and the analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threatsperceivedbyspecificstakeholdersregardingprojecthypothesesandpredefineddevelopmentareas. In management sciences this technique is often used in complex contexts, where choices have multidimensional characteristics (i.e., technical, organizational, economic, environmental aspects) and both theboundaryconditionsandtheinternalfeaturesoftheprojectaretobeinvestigated. ThedevelopmentofmethodologiesforaSWOTanalysisstartedin1950s(Smith,1951)andcontinuedinthe 3

following decades (Andrews, 1971), with the involvement of both the academic and the consultancy community.Inparticular,effortsweremadeforthedefinitionofprotocolsforanobjectiveandreproducible acquisition of internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities and threats), fortheachievementofasharedopinionoftheproposedscenario. The main critics to SWOT analysis (Hill et al. 1997) are related to the difficulty in achieving a sound method for the prioritization of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and to the possible biases due to the different perception of the respondents towards future, i.e. foreseen as carrier of threats or opportunities. Therefore, several schemes have been proposed to better support planning processes, in particular focusing on the possibility to gather detailed and systematic data, able to describe the external andinternalenvironmentoftheproject.

3. SWOTmethodologyappliedtoELTssupplychain 3.1.Background
The SWOT report focused on Italy where the supply chain is more developed. Nevertheless Greek partners suppliedtheItalianoneswithinformation(nationallevel)ontheexistingopportunities.Theblendingofthe information contributed to the development of the alternatives (presented in chapter 5). The stated limits and specifications are based on adaptation of EU legislation (common for both countries). Additionally the case of pyrolisis and combustion as recovery options for Greece are presented due to the recent public discussionofitinHellenictechnicalandpoliticalmeetings.

3.2.Methodology
ImportantelementshavebeenconsideredduringthedevelopmentofthisSWOTanalysis: - SelectionofrelevantopinionleadersintheELTssector; - Inclusionofalltherelevantissues - Considerationofthedifferentopinionswithinthecommunity. Opinion leaders were mainly chosen among the category associations and those consortia involved in the ELTsmanagement. TheanalysisofELTschaindevelopmentperspectivewasbasedonthefollowingaspects: - Identificationofalternativepathsandpotentialarticulationofthechain; - Identification of internal and external factors, able to affect the success of one alternative instead of the other; - Identification of the stakeholders perception and achievement of a shared evaluation with the prioritizationofregisteredpoints. - Discussionandsharingofstrategiesforthesuccessofthechain. Thefirststepisaqualitativeinvestigation,basedoninterviewstotheopinionleaders,carriedoutaccording to the same scheme in order to have a uniform approach and to be reproducible, to collect opinions on alternative paths and relevant factors for their success. In a second step, single factors scores were attributed from the average and the width of the recorded values (media; min; max). These data allow, during the interpretation step, to integrate the quantitative model with a qualitative analysis of the 4

scenarios. The potential supply chain development is described through alternatives for a set of key and independent decisions.N(=four)decisionnodeswereidentifiedasthedifferentvariablestowhicha(=four)alternatives for the chain development are attributed. Therefore, a*n determinants represent the dimension of the morphologicspaceofthepossiblesupplychainconfigurations(Figure1).Eachalternativeconfigurationwas establishedthroughadecisionitinerarydefinedbynlinguisticdescriptors(oneforeachcardinalpoint). Then the scores relative to the SWOT parameters for the n*a (=16) determinants have been attributed as well as the compatibility parameter C, which allows the elimination of inconsistent chain itineraries. A criterionforexclusionisdefinedbytheconstraintswhichmakeunrealizableseveralgroupsofsolutions. Each interviewed opinion leader was asked to express scores to the different alternatives keeping in mind the objective of a sustainable development of the national ELTs recovery chain (therefore rejecting possible speculativeorshorttermstrategies).

Figure1.SchemeofSWOTanalysisthroughitineraryaggregation SWOTparametersandCcompatibilityfactorshavebeenattributedaccordingtothefollowingschemes: SWOTParameter 1 2 Description Theparameterisabsolutelynonrelevantforthestrategydefinition The parameter is not particularly relevant for the strategy definition and determinesnonrelevanteffects. The parameter is important for the strategy definition and determines relevant but notcertaineffects The parameter is important for the strategy definition and determines relevant but andcertaineffects Description

ParameterC

Unsubstantial alternatives: the occurrence of the first alternative prevents the occurrenceofthesecondone Compatiblealternativesbutreciprocallyweakeneachother Substantial alternatives: the occurrence of the first alternative allows the regular occurrenceofthesecondone Substantialandsynergicalternatives

0,5 1

Bycombiningthequalitativevariablesasdescribedinthetablesabove,thea*ndeterminantsaredescribed with a value parameter and a compatibility parameter. In a nonreductionist perspective, the scores interpretation step is aimed at the definition of a development alternative for the supply chain, which better fits the point of view and the expectations of each stakeholder (i.e., risk propensity, short or long termperspective).

4. SelectionofopinionleadersoftheELTssupplychainsector
During the research phase of Action 3.1 (Market analysis) of Roadtire project, SSSUP has described the structure of the Italian ELTs market and its operators. The network developed includes both companies operatingontheItalianmarketandotherrelevantstakeholders,suchascategoryassociationsandconsortia established for the application of the producers extended responsibility principle. SSSUP maintained contacts with these stakeholders in order to monitor the dynamics occurring after the approval of DM 82/11, which enforces the art. 228 del D.lgs 152/06 establishing the EPR principle. Since then, the producers and importers of tires are obliged to manage an equal amount of ELTs to that introduced on the national market. Several organization, with different juridical status, have been established and registered to the MinistryofEnvironment(MATTM).ThelargestorganizationpresentinItalyisEcopneus,establishedin2009 by the major tires producers (> 90% of total market). Other organizations, such as Greentyre Scrl (establishedbythelargesttireimporters)andEcotyreScrl,startedtheiractivitymorerecentlyandalthough managesmalleramountsofELTsarealsoofgreatinterest. OntheotherhandinGreeceEcoelasticarunsthetotalELTcollection/recover/recyclingprocessesandfigure belowpresentstheoverallstatisticdatafor2011. TheELTssupplychainconsistsinthefollowingsteps: 1. Wastegeneration; 2. Collection,transportandselection; 3. Milling(shreddingandrubberparticlesproduction); 4. Valorization(rubberrecyclingplants). ELTs as waste can be produced in any place where tire replacement occurs, including tire dealers, petrol stations, garages etc.. ELTs are then collected and transported by companies authorized for the managementofthistypeofwasteandusuallyconferredtoshreddingandmillingplants.Thetypeofmilling occurring in this phase is functional to the following valorization step: for the energy recovery, coarse shredding is sufficient in order to reduce the size of the tire, while for material recycling, granules and powderareusuallyproduced. 6

 Energyrecoveryoccursmainlyincementkilns,whilerecycledmaterialisoftenusedinthesportsfields. As a consequence, the type of companies involved along the ELTs chain is extremely varied in terms of size, type of activity, market position etc. For instance, the number of collectors nationwide is about 7000 companies, and very often this is not their only business. The number of milling companies is about 90 nationwide,althoughthisnumberiscontinuouslyfluctuating. Duetothelargecomplexityofthecompaniesinvolvedinthissector,weidentifiedthosestakeholders, whichcouldrepresentthepointofviewofawholecategory,suchas: FederazioneGommaPlastica:Nationalfederationofrubberandplasticsmanufactures UnirigomandArgo:CategoryassociationsofcompaniesdealingwithELTsrecoveryandrecycling AIRP:Italianassociationoftireretreaders FEDERPNEUS:Nationalassociationoftirespecialists(retailers) ConsortiaororganizationsestablishedfortheELTsmanagement(accordingtheEPRprinciple) However,onlythreeorganizationturnedouttobeavailabletobeinvolvedinthisstudy:Ecopneusand Greentyrescrl(ELTsmanagementorganizations)andUnirigom(ELTSrecyclingcategoryassociation).

5. Constructionofthealternativesandexpressionofthe evaluations
In a first step, the decision nodes for the potential development of a sustainable ELTs supply chain were elaborated.Thealternativeswerethenproposedonthefollowingfourdecisionnodes: 1. TreatmentTechnologiesofELTs 2. Recoveryalternativesforthetreatedmaterials 7

3. Economicalsupporttoincentivizethesupplychain 4. Institutionalsupporttoincentivizethesupplychain Foreachdecisionnodes,fouralternativeswereproposedinordertodefinepossibleindependentitineraries forthesupplychain.

5.1 Decisionnode1:TreatmenttechnologiesofELTs
The stakeholder should express his/her position regarding the contribution of different technologies to the sustainabilityoftheELTssupplychain.Thesetechnologiesshouldbeevaluatedintermsoftheircapabilityto yield suitable products that meet the requirements of the market for both the energy and the material recovery. Alternative 1: Mechanical (and non mechanical) treatments, which produce granulate and/or powder compliant with high quality standards (impurities content, granulometry), according to the Technical SpecificationCENTS14243. I.e.,theapplicationofhighqualityroomtemperaturemechanicalprocessesorcryogenicprocesses STRENGTHS Score WEAKNESSES Score
High quality and cleaness of the separated components Mechanicalplants: Companies provided with high quality mechanical plant working at room temperature (recently installed or adapted) that are flexible and able to satisfy the request of high standard products from the market. For instance, Kall plants are excellent mechanical plants with lower energy consumption and components wear and their cost is decreasing due to the increasedemandofthistypeofplants. Cryogenic: The technology is able to produce extremely finepowdersandcleanmetal 4 3 Mechanicalplants: Significant investments are required to improve the quality production of existing plants, increase their flexibility, and provide continuous maintenance. Very often these costsarenotbearablebytheplantsowners. Cryogenic: Costs are very high and currently products have no market since there is no demand yet. Plants having the cryogenic module prefernottouseit.

OPPORTUNITIES
The production of high quality standard material allows the company to satisfy the market requests and to remain competitive. A correct management of the plant moreover allows for a quality improvement and also for consumptionsreduction. Cryogenic:

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THREATS
Generalconsiderations 1. The market demand of high quality standard materials may lead to the exclusion of those companies unable or unwilling to make investments to improve the technical aspects of their plants and to make efforts to place their products on the market.

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1. The fine powder obtainable with the cryogenic treatment could favor new applications (i.e. thermoplastics production); also the high quality metal scraps could be used 4 fornewapplications.

2. Lobby action may occur from the virgin raw materials producers to prevent the achievement of a certification for the 3 secondary raw materials, which is considered a threat since it may lead to equalizeSRMwithvirginrawmaterials Cryogenic: 1 High production costs and failed valorization of the products on the market would prevent this technology from being sustainable and attractive for new investors and therefore hinder its diffusion. Rubber powder should be sold at 8900 euro/kg in ordertomakethetechnologysustainable.

Alternative 2: Ordinary mechanical treatment yielding current average quality material, granules and powder. i.e. the maintenance of the current status of the Italian treatment plants where,onaverage,littleattentionispaidtothequalityoftheprocessoutputs(sizeandquality) STRENGTHS
Maintenance of the status quo of the averageItalianplants Diffusion on the national level of the treatmentcapacity 1

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WEAKNESSES
1. Nationwide presence of non suitable technologies and non flexible plants, which spread in the past years due to the availability of incentives and the proposal by the plants producers of untrue business plansfortheirplants.

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2. Total absence of a market analysis for the products and frequent inexperience of the 4 operators. 3. Market saturation of these products: they are often sold on foreign markets to overcome the difficulties to be sold in Italy for their lowquality. 4. A large number of extemporized plants producing low qualitymaterialsisathreatforskilled operators.

OPPORTUNITIES
1. Adequate investments and market analysis allow the mechanical treatment operators to succeed on the Nationalmarket 2. The current market of standard materials by performing a market analysis couldbeexpanded 3. The increase in offer should increaseinqualityofthematerials

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THREATS
1. Lack of investments to improve the plant performances would maintain a low quality production, which does not match the requests of the market and thus would contribute to the quick saturation of the low quality secondary raw material (granules, powder)market

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4. Plant verticalization, integrating 2 the treatment and the valorization steps by increasing the organization size, will allow to control directly the final destination market, thus avoiding the currentbottleneck. 5. Improvements in the material recovery plants will be possible with the cogeneration of energy from the productionscraps

2. The permanence of operators with low performing 4 plants until the achievement of their ROI may cause serious problems to thesurvivalofskilledoperators 3. The possible market saturation for the secondary raw material may cause a decrease in input amounts of ELTs to the plants, provided by the Consortium Ecopneus system. This can harm those operators who have invested forimprovingtheirplants.

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Alternative3:Devulcanizationtechnologies(rigeneration) I.e. all the processes yielding devulcanized (partially or wholly) rubber, by breaking the sulphuricbondscreatedduringtherubbervulcanizationprocess. At present, the Water Jet (High Pressure) technology is considered to be very promising since during the pulverization of the rubber it provides also a significant percentage of devulcanized material, without the use of additional chemical or biological reactants. Also microwave technologyisconsideredverypromising. These technologies allow to open new application sectors especially in blends, thus completely recyclingthepolymer. Score Score STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
The introduction of new technologies is an obligation which should be carried out in parallel with the renovation of old plants. Devulcanization(ingeneral): 1. It is a key solution, which provides relevant changes in the market of virgin raw materials, as a consequence of their increaseinpriceanddifficultavailability. 2.Productionofsecondaryrawmaterials withawiderangeofapplications HPWJ: leads to the pulverization and to a partial devulcanization in the same process, thus avoiding the use of chemicals; it is used/useful for the treatment of oversize ELTs. Lower wear oftheplant.(stillexperimental) MW: At experimental level it seems 2 possible to devulcanize the surface of rubbergranules. These technologies are still in anexperimental stage Aconsistentinvestmentbythe company is needed to start these technologies. 1. Currently, the regenerated polymer is mostly produced in India and Far East, where energy costs are lower and environmental legislation is less stringent than in Italy (and Europe). The costs would be 510 times higher and would be charged on the final price of the product(environmentaldumping) HPWJ: 1. The technology is still experimental and operates at very high pressure and with extremely high energy 2 consumption. It is only used for oversize ELTs (agricultural tires) andnotwithcartires. 2. The obtained product is not compatible with any standards and not appealing for the market (it is a wet powder). The technology is unable to separate the textile fraction. The energy consumption is not sustainable.

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OPPORTUNITIES
HPWJ: 1. If correctly managed, it would be able to produce in a single step a partially devulcanized and already reactiverubberpowder.

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THREATS
Competition for price/quality of the virgin raw material would hinder the development of this sector 1. Low chance to access thoseapplicationfieldswherethe technological requirements are particularlystringent

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2. Expansion of the application fields of secondary raw materials: the market for these powders should be enhanced, in order to diversify the 4 applicationandclosethesupplychain. 3. It would give the possibility to substitutevirginrawmaterialswhichare moreandmorecostlyandrare 4. The success of one technology with reasonable costs will favor the success of devulcanization (i.e., the waterjet)

2. Little psychological 3 acceptance of recycled materials forsomeapplications 3. Competition of the Far East production may not allow the evolution of the local production in Italy, which results lesscompetitive.

Alternative4:Mixofthepreviousalternatives STRENGTHS
Moreflexibilityinthetechnologicaloffer 3 Absence of a silver bullet technology, which can close the loop 3 ofthesupplychain Need to overcome the experimental stageofsometechnologies

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WEAKNESSES
Little influence on the developmentofspecificpolicies

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OPPORTUNITIES
Lowerdependenceonspecificsectors

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THREATS

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Absence of lockin in the future chain evolution 3 Natural selection of operators based on the qualityoftheirproducts

Absence of critical masses of investments in order to guarantee the technological development of 3 thechainoptions.

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5.2 Decisionnode2:DestinationofthetreatedELTsmaterial
Inthisdecisionalnode,thecontributionofthedifferentfinaldestinationoptionsforthetreatedmaterialsis evaluated. The focus is set on those activities, which may provide a large capability to treat a large amount ofELTs Alternative 5: Use of powder recovered from ELTs in the tire manufacture and in high performanceblendingeneral(closeloopsupplychain) I.e. this alternative considers the use of ELTs powder in the tire production processes and in blendingprocessesforhighperformanceblends. STRENGTHS
Recyclinginthetiremanufacture 1Closeloopsupplychain 2 Green marketing for the tire manufacturers 3 ELTs powder can be used up to maximum78%insomepartsofthetire. It is conveniently used only when virgin naturalrubberpriceincreases. Hightechblends The recycling in hightech items where high performances are required (windscreen wipers, gaskets etc.) suffer from similar drawbacks of tire 2 manufacture. Lowtechblends The use of devulcanized rubber allows for lower amounts of binders and therefore lower costs. Low tech blends have more chances to be accepted by the market than high tech blends. Moreover, new material characteristics can be achieved for instance higher elasticity due to the lower amount of binders can be useful for new applications.

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WEAKNESSES
High costs for the development of new blends, with respect to consolidatedblends. Recyclinginthetiremanufacture 1. This close loop re cycling is hindered by the complexity of the testing phase of these new materials, which are must guarantee excellent technical performances. Therefore it is difficult that this sector is able to absorblargeamountsofmaterial. 2. At present, it is possible to use only up to 78% wt of ELTs rubber powder andonlyinspecificpartsofthetire. 3. At present, the economical advantageisnotsignificant Blends 1. At present, the devulcanized material comes from the Far East is not qualitatively equal to the virgin rawmaterial 2. It is difficult to introduce modification to processes which are consolidated by blends producers and customers both for high tech and low techblends.

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OPPORTUNITIES
1. The close loop recycling would help solving the ELTs management issue, considering the global amount of producedtires 2. The success in recycling in tire and blends manufacturers would be a powerfuldriverforthewholechain.

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THREATS
1. Thefailureofperformancesof materials containing regenerated ELTs rubber powder with respect to traditional materials would jeopardize the supply chain thus, hindering the successoftheseapplications.

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3. The use of regenerated powder 4 would foster new applications for blend recycling 4. The economic advantage, occurring in case of price increase of natural and synthetic rubber, and the better performances would help the success of devulcanized rubber powder inblends

2. Natural selection of those operators in the supply chain unable to keep pace with the technological 3 evolution

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Alternative6:Materialrecyclinginapplicationssuchascivilengineering,streetfurniture,rubberizedasphalts,rubberplaygrounds,sportfields,etc. I.e.,allthoseapplications,whichare,moreorless,currentlydiffused. STRENGTHS

The variety of applications allows for the placement of different qualitymaterialssecondaryrawmaterials 1. Excellent performances in all the applications: improved performances of sport grounds, of railroad antivibration rubber, of qualityandlifetimeofrubberizedasphalts. 2. The costs of these established applications are reasonably cheap. 3. The material recycling applications are compliant with the prioritiessetbytheEuropeanenvironmentallegislation 4

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WEAKNESSES
1. Rubber powder is often used only as filler and therefore in small amounts 2. Sports ground application in Italy require the painting of the granulessurface(duetopotentialcancerogenicityofthematerial) 3. The operators in the sector of asphalts and antivibration structures are not interested in improving the quality and the duration of their products and therefore do not cooperate for the diffusion of these applications

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4. The National market of most of these items is limited and often dependent on the financial availability of local municipalities (since most of these applications fall within the municipalities responsibility), which has 2 beenrestrictedbythePattodistabilitandthegeneralcrisistrend 5. Very often these manufactured products are produced in China and in the Far East and are sold on the Italian market with lower quality but morecompetitivepricesthanthoseproducedinItaly. 6. The current configuration of the EPR system, mainly dominated by Ecopneus consortium, does not favor the material recycling with respect to theenergyrecovery

OPPORTUNITIES
Diversificationofthepotentialapplicationfields 1. The use of ELTs rubber powder in new blends and in rubberized asphalts would be the two main drivers of the material recovery

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THREATS
1. Currently it is difficult to provide incentive to the material recovery applications due to the present and future preponderance of the energy recoverysector 2. In case of little innovation and development of new blends applicationsthecurrentmarketmayfaceeasilyasaturationsituation

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2. Newpotentialapplicationoftherubbergranulesmayoccurin the acoustic insulation field, in case of implementation of the obligation of a acoustic certification of buildings (as it occurs for the 4 energeticcertification) 3. The consolidated applications may be supported through investmentsaimedtotheintegrationofthetreatmentandvalorization stepsinthechain.

3. The competition of the Asian countries may hinder the success of the Italian operators thus yielding negative consequences for the National 2 (i.e., occupational) production and for the global environmental performanceofthesector. 4. The rubberized asphalt application of ELTs rubber powder may be hindered by SBS rubber producers and in general by any kind of binders producers,whicharecompetitorsonthemarket. 5. Newmaterialsarecompetingforthesportsfieldsapplications

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Alternative7:Energyrecoveryincementkilns,thermoelectricplants,pyrolisisplantsetc.I.e.alltheEnergyrecoveryapplicationsareconsideredhere STRENGTHS
Cementkilns: 1. Thisisasimpleandcheaptechnologythatallowstotreatlargeamountsof ELTs with energy recovery, therefore contributing significantly to close the loop of the supply chain. The energy recovery is a relief valve to avoid the material recyclingmarket 2. Better economical conditions for the ELTs supply to the plants have been achieved with the intermediation role of the consortium, which has more contractualpowerwiththelargecementkilns. Pyrolisis: 1. 4. Thecurrent(andpast)largeenvironmentalcontributionwhichisdue by the tire buyers does not correspond to the large predominance of a low tech technology, such as incineration, to close the loop of the ELTs supply chain. 5. The large application of energy recovery hinders investments in the materialrecyclingapplications Pyrolisis: 1. Currently,therearenocommercialplants:theexperimentalonesare notautosustainablesincetheirmanagementistoocostly 2. Gas, oil, char products are difficult to manage and often require an additionalpurificationstep,whichiscomplicatedandexpensive Itallowsforobtainingchemicalintermediatesfortheproductionofenergy 4

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WEAKNESSES
Limitedenvironmentalperformances Cementkilns: 1. Only few cement kilns are present nationwide (2 plants Marangoni and few smaller cement kilns). They are not used for lime production (since the color of the product is affected) and are seldom used for waste co incineration to increase the CP of waste. Globally, the energy recovery options inItalyarecurrentlyquitelimited 2. The strict environmental legislation prevents from the diffusion to otherenergyrecoveryoptionsnationwide. 3. A large percentage of the ELTs are exported for energy recovery to FarEastcountriesandnorthAfrica.

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OPPORTUNITIES
Pyrolisis: 1. Potential production of fuels, which could be used to feed the process itselfthusdecreasingtheenergyconsumptionandproductionofotherchemicals 2. It could be a suitable alternative to solve some specific situations: for instancethemanagementofELTsinSardinia. Incineration

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THREATS
Incineration 1 A decrease in the ELTs incineration amounts can be faced in case of construction sector crisis and in case of stricter environmental regulation. ThesefactorswouldfavortheexporttoFarEastcountriesandnorthAfrica 2. The economic support of the incineration sector hinders in the long terminvestmentsinmorecomplexsectors suchasthematerialrecoveryand evenmaypenalizethem. 3. Regulationevolutionmayhindertheexportabroad.

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3 1. If the rate of ELTs incineration in Italy achieves the average European, the amountofELTsdestinedtoenergyrecoverywouldriseupto150000ton/yrandthe exportwouldbeavoided.

4. Regulation evolution may incentive the material recycling, in coherencewiththeEuropeanpriorities Pyrolisis: 1. The average operators in Italy do not have adequate technical and managerialskillstorunsuchcomplexplants

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Alternative8:Mixoftherecoveryalternativeslistedbefore STRENGTHS
Complementary and integratedalternatives

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WEAKNESSES

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Diversification of final market destination of the materials

Absenceofastimulusto incentive one sector with respecttotheothers 3

OPPORTUNITIES
Subsidiarity of different sectors

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THREATS

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The competition among different sectors may hinderthedevelopmentof 3 each valorization sector (dispersion of capital investments)

5.3 Decisionnode3:EconomicsupportalternativesfortheELTs managementsupplychain

This node focuses on the possible economic support actions, connected to the implementation of the EPR system,whichmayhelpstimulatingthesustainabilityoftheELTssupplychain. Alternative9:EconomicincentiveproportionaltotheamountoftreatedELTs This incentive is proportional to the treated amounts, independently from the technology used and the final destination of the secondary raw materials. It does not consider the technological innovationortheenvironmentalimpactsconnectedtothetechnology. STRENGTHS
The incentive proportional to the amount of treated ELTs is useful to closetheloopofthesupplychain The input amount of ELTs is 3 guaranteed to those organization that demonstrate the actual destinationoftheirproduct.

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WEAKNESSES
Adverse selection of those who invest intechnologicalinnovation

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Penalization of material recovery activities with lower treatment capacity 3 in favor of incineration plants, treating largeramounts.

OPPORTUNITIES

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THREATS

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Strong stimulus to close the chain as requested by the National legislation 3 Incentive to manage and reduce thehistoricalstocks

Incentive to a management supply chain which is not environmentally sustainable, not enough diversified and 3 discouraging with respect to more innovativetechnologies

Alternative 10: Economic incentive proportional to investments in research and development aimed to the development of innovative technologies and to the developmentoffinalapplicationsandmarketpenetrationbytheproducts This incentive is proportional to the effort of the companies to improve their technological assets and the placement of their products in the final market (i.e., by obtainingahighstandardqualitysecondaryrawmaterials,whichcanbeeasilyplacedonthemarket). STRENGTHS
Ecopneus can provide a guaranteed input amount of ELTs to those plants, which are more innovative in technologies and which are already integrated in the valorization step thus allowing for the supply chain sustainability, especially in some areas which are otherwise difficult to manage. Often these organization have also the best offers intermsofefficacyandefficiencyandthuscanwinthesupplyselections. SupporttoR&Dprojects,whichgroundonthemarketrequests Supporttotheimprovementofplants Supportorganisationsdoingmarketanalysis

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WEAKNESSES
Fragmentation of research activities and non synergic exploitmentofinvestments Few organisations carry out R&D and ask for support for concreteprojectstotheconsortium

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3 Support is often given to research projects, which are not relevanttothemarket

OPPORTUNITIES
Boosttheengagementofpartnershipsalongthesupplychain,byreducingthecosts ofproductsmarketpenetrationatNationalandInternationallevel. 1. Support to the recycled products by reducing the VAT: this could also boost thelocalmunicipalitiestogreenprocurement

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THREATS
1. Contributions may shift investments to technologies which are innovative but have a limited treatment capacity to absorb the ELTs amounts needed to close the supply chain.

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2. Supporttotheproductsstandardizationprocedures,tofacilitatetheirmarket 4 penetration 3. Incentivestocompaniescommittedintheproductplacementonthemarket: this would contribute to increase the profit margin of the products thus helping reducingtheenvironmentalcontributionattheentrancegate

Alternative 11: Economic incentive proportional to the ecological footprint of the applied technology I.e.Thiscriterionisbasedontheecoprofileevaluationofthefinalproduct(i.e.LCA) STRENGTHS
Coherence with the European policy on waste 1. In general, any ELTs management approach with respect to landfill disposal (not to speak about the illegal dumping) is advantageous from the environmental point of view and should therefore be supported: 2 theenvironmentalbenefitsareevidentboth in the material recycling and in the energy recovery 2. Often more efficient plants are also more environmentally performing and thus trulycompetitive.

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WEAKNESSES
1. Environmental criteria are not currently a driver for investments

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2. Lack of acknowledgment of the recycled manufactured productsandacceptanceon the market (the origin of 3 the secondary raw materials is often hidden andnotadvertised)

OPPORTUNITIES
Valorization of ecological footprint on the greenpurchasemarkets(es.GPP)

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THREATS
Little acceptance from the market of green labels for recycledproducts.

Score

The incentives should be coherent with the 3 wastehierarchy,asindicatedbytheEU

Alternative12:Mixoftheeconomicincentiveslistedbefore STRENGTHS Score WEAKNESSES Score

Presence on the market of technologies having 3 heterogeneousfeatures

Less selectivity in the choiceoftechnologies 3

OPPORTUNITIES

Score

THREATS

Score

Larger diversification of potential technological 3 trajectory

Lack of interorganisation alliances on strategic 3 objectives

5.4 Decisionnode4:NoneconomicincentivestothedevelopmentoftheELTs managementsupplychain

These types of incentives should support the market of the materials obtained from ELTs treatment operations,throughinstitutionaltoolswhichcanfavortheircompetitiveness Alternative13:InclusionofELTsrecyclingproductsinthegreenpublicprocurement. GPP,(greenpublicprocurement),isanenvironmentalpolicyvoluntarytoolthatintendstosupportthe market of products and services with a low environmental impacts, by exploiting the public demand fromlocaladministrations,whichhavethedutytobuyacertainpercentageofproductsobtainedfrom recycled materials (D.Lgs 163/2006 e DM 203/2003). Rubberized asphalt containing ELTs powder rubber, sport grounds made with ELTs rubber granules, street furniture etc., are the most interesting applicationinthisfield STRENGTHS
High guarantee of placement of recycledproductsonthemarket GPP: 1. It is both a protection and incentivetool 2. It is the only tool that can favor the made in Italy without applyingcustomsduty 4

Score

WEAKNESSES
GPP: At present it does not work properly since it is neither compulsory nor rewarding The definition of the minimal environmental criteria for the different itemsisaslowprocessduetothelackof will of the involved stakeholders, who arenotefficientlycoordinated Incapacity and lack of will of the stakeholdersofdifferentsectorstoboost thisprocess

Score

OPPORTUNITIES

Score

THREATS

Score

22

The actual implementation of GPP would be useful to boost the final applicationofELTsderivingmaterials, which often are within the competences of public administration. It may be useful in order to change mentality of the public administrators so that they could be apply as routine the green purchasing. The GPP implementation would increase the competitiveness of Italian products over the foreign ones, which usually have a larger ecological (carbon) footprint and lowerquality. 4 GPP: it will finally promote the material recycling activities, by providing more certain final applicationsandthusovercomingthe bottleneck of the whole managementsupplychain. GPP for roads: should boost roads showing better performances and long term costs for the local administrations; the diffused application of rubberized roads would be a great contribution to the MATTM to solve the problems connected to the ELTs final destination.

The definition of GPP on roads faces problemsduetothedifficultyindefining truly rewarding characteristics of the specific material (parameters should be set in terms of technical performances rather than in the type of material). Once the materials are defined, high chance of failure of this sectors could be faced in case the operators are not able/willing to work with rubberized bitumen. The still delayed implementation of GPP does not help the Italian production towards the competition of products from China and the Far East. The absence of GPP for the road asphalt 3 prevents even to reward the environmental benefits connected with savingrawmaterialsfortheconstruction orforthemaintenance Lack of political will to carry on the insertionofnewitemsintheGPPlist.

Alternative 14: The clear application of relevant environmental regulation for the ELTs supply chain. I.e. the clear application of endofwaste mechanism would allow the trade of granules and powder (nationwideandinternationally)withouttheobligationsimposedbythewasteregulations,andwould make it much easier the diffusion of these materials. Also the dispensation of REACH regulation, as foreseenfortheMPSderivingfromwaste,shouldbemadeclear.Thepresentuncertaintyofregulation isaserioushurdletothefunctioningoftheELTsrecoverysystem. 23

STRENGTHS
EPR decree is already an excellent contribution to the management of this recovery chain, which so far had no set rules. End of waste: the clear application of end of waste mechanism simplifies the organizationactivities Standard: the diffusion of quality standards contributes to establish a common language among sector operators and it allows also the acknowledgment of the recycled origin ofthematerials. Regulation: current regulation does not hinder the production of secondary raw materials and it allows also the protectionoforganizations REACH: it is not applied in the sector since the operators do not carry out a chemicalmodificationofthematerials

Score

WEAKNESSES
Problems connected to the modification of art 181 on the secondaryrawmaterialsdefinition. Problems derive from the incoherency of regulations and authorizative procedures over the Italian territory (i.e., some activities are allowed in some areas and forbidden somewhere else) Restrictive limits for the use of ELTs in incineration. Restrictive limits for the export activities.

Score

TS14243 standard defines only a measurement methodology and does not set limits, thus not defining a proper classification. Lack of 3 knowledge of standards by the control authorities makes the communication difficult. The EPR decree is not largely shared among the sector operators. Moreover it is not coherent with the European legislation in terms of waste hierarchy (material recycling first), since it does not foresee the integration of the final applications within the management chain. This may lead to a saturation of the final market applications and the blockage of the whole management chain. The ELTs incineration will then be favored since it will bring relief to thechainmanagement.

OPPORTUNITIES

Score

THREATS

Score

24

1. Less regulatory uncertainties in the legislative and administrative fulfillments would give a boost to more regularactivitiesinthesector. 2. The application of diffused standards would ease the trading of the materialsinItalyandabroad 3. The homogenization of 4 authorizative documents would make it more easy to operate in the sector (i.e., plants,customs,harbors) 4. The sharing of a common language among operators and authorities would make it more easy to operateinthesector.

End of waste decree is awaited. Depending on the definition regarding the ELTs (exclusion of ELTS), it will increase the export of materials because it will be more difficult to operate nationwide for both the materialrecyclingandenergyrecovery. Standard: the lobby of virgin raw 3 materialsproducersmayopposetothe setting of a standard with limits, in order to exclude these materials from themarketcompetition. Administrative simplification may cause the proliferationofcompanies in thesector.

Alternative 15: Provision from the public bodies of economical incentives, financing new plants etc. to supportthedevelopmentoftheELTsmanagementsupplychain STRENGTHS
Boost of R&D organizations activities in the

Score

WEAKNESSES
Incentives given to old plants producing lowqualitymaterials,whicharedifficultto placeonthemarket

Score

(Ecopneus) Support for the chain quality 2 certification as a marketing tool as well as a boost for increased quality production by operators

OPPORTUNITIES
Support will be effective in case it is given only to those organizations providing innovativetechnologies

Score

THREATS
Lackofinitiativebythesingleorganization

Score

Support will be effective if given to those organizations making efforts to penetrate 2 theapplicationmarkets Support should be guaranteed to those organizations which are capable to manage large amounts of ELTs but especially to those who innovate in treatment technologiesandinapplications

25

Alternative16:Mixoftheabovementionedtools STRENGTHS
Limited dependence availabilityofresources on the

Score

WEAKNESSES
Complexity in the coordination and promotion of the single supporting actions

Score

Balanced resolution of the different 3 constrains to the development of the supplychain

3 Complexity in the evaluation of the different options by smaller and less structuredcompanies.

OPPORTUNITIES

Score

THREATS
Potential reciprocal weakening of supporttoolshavingdifferentfocus

Score

Possibility to correctly help the developmentofthechainbyefficiently intervene on the different axes, accordingtotheacquiredexperience 3

Potential excessive impact on the 3 natural development of the market (introduction of a lockin in the technologicaltrajectories)

Asregardsthecompatibilityfactorsamongtheabovedescribedalternatives,thefollowingtablereportsthe scoreassignedtotheelementsofthematrix,whichissymmetricwithrespecttothediagonal:
Alt. 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 X = = = = = = = = = = = = 2 X X = = = = = = = = = = = 3 X X X = = = = = = = = = = 4 X X X X = = = = = = = = = 5 2 0 2 0.5 X = = = = = = = = 6 2 0.5 1 1 X X = = = = = = = 7 1 0.5 0.5 1 X X X = = = = = = 8 1 0.5 1 1 X X X X = = = = = 9 2 1 1 1 0.5 0.5 2 1 X = = = = 10 2 0 2 1 2 2 0.5 1 X X = = = 11 1 0.5 1 1 2 2 0 1 X X X = = 12 1 0.5 1 1 1 1 0.5 1 X X X X = 13 2 0.5 2 1 1 2 0 1 0.5 2 2 1 X 14 2 0.5 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 X 15 1 0.5 1 1 1 1 0.5 1 1 1 1 1 X 16 1 0.5 1 1 1 1 0.5 1 1 1 1 1 X

26

14 15 16

= = =

= = =

= = =

= = =

= = =

= = =

= = =

= = =

= = =

= = =

= = =

= = =

= = =

X = =

X X =

X X X

6.Evaluationprocess
Thedecisionalprocesshasbeendividedin4thematicnodeswithatotalof16alternativesasfollows:
List of the alternatives N node N alternative

Title

TreatmentTechnologiesofELTs
1 1

Mechanical (and non mechanical) treatments which produces granulate and/or powder compliant with high quality standards (impurities content, granulometry)accordingtotheTechnicalSpecificationCENTS14243. Ordinary mechanical treatment yielding current average quality material, granulesandpowder. Devulcanizationtechnologies(rigeneration) Mixofthepreviousalternatives

1 1

3 4

DestinationofthetreatedELTsmaterial
2 5

Use of powder recovered from ELTs in the tire manufacture and in high performanceblendingeneral(closeloopsupplychain). Materialrecyclinginapplicationssuchascivilengineering,streetfurniture, rubberizedasphalts,rubberplaygrounds,sportfields,etc.. Energyrecoveryincementkilns,thermoelectricplants,pyrolysisplantsetc. Mixoftherecoveryalternativeslistedbefore

2 2

7 8

EconomicsupportalternativesfortheELTsmanagementchain.
3 3 9 10

EconomicincentiveproportionaltotheamountoftreatedELTs Economic incentive proportional to investments in research and development aimed to the development of innovative technologies and to the development of final applications and market penetration by the products Economic incentive proportional to the ecological footprint of the applied technology. 27

11

12

Mixoftheeconomicincentiveslistedbefore

NoneconomicincentivestothedevelopmentoftheELTsmanagementchain
4 4 13 14

InclusionofELTsrecyclingproductsinthegreenpublicprocurement. The clear application of relevant environmental regulation for the ELTs supplychain. Provision from the public bodies of economical incentives, financing new plants etc. to support the development of the ELTs management supply chain Mixoftheabovementionedtools

15

16

Two itineraries are preferred for the compatibility and they share three nodes out of four, highlighting the coherence towards developing material recovery alternatives, by improving the preexisting mechanical treatmentsplants(alt.1),bysupportingthealreadyconsolidatedmaterialrecoveryapplicationsandalsoby boosting those options that are not established in Italy yet, but could however bring a significant contribution to the material valorization sector such as, for instance, rubberised asphalts and new blends (alt 6). These itineraries would be supported by economical incentives given preferably to those organisationthataremoreactiveintechnologicalinnovationandinscoutingopportunitiesinthemarketfor their recycled products (alt 10). Also non economical incentives would be greatly helpful, such as the implementation of GPP and the sound application of environnemental legislation relevant in the ELT sector (i.e.,endofwastedefinition,authorizationissuesetc.). CMd 3,17 Itinerariespreferredforthecompatibility 1 1 RegardingtheitinerariespreferredfortheStrenghts,thefollowingresultswereobtained: SMd 11.5 Andthepreferreditinerariesare 28 Smax 15 nI>SMd 54 nI<SMd 202 nI:C=0 55 6 6 10 10 13 14 CMax 64 nI>CMd 54 nI<CMd 202 nI:C=0 55

Itinerariespreferredforthestrenghts 1 1 1 1 1 1 Theitinerariespreferredforthestrengthsarelargelyoverlappingandhighlight,asregardsthetechnological node, the advantages of improving the already existing treatment plants in Italy. The survey in fact highlights that the large majority of the treatment plants in Italy utilizes room temperature mechanical treatment,mostlywithlowperformances,lowflexibilityoftheproductionandpoormanagerialcapabilities of the operators. This situation was built up over the past years since several investors have been attracted to this business with little understanding of the sector and little managerial skills, by diffused incentives provision and without a sound evaluation of the business plans proposed by the plants sellers. On the contrary,few farsightedoperatorsinvestedon thequalityand theefficiencyoftheirplants,ontheseekfor niches in the valorization market (national and international) that could absorb their production, and are actually able to provide high standard products and flexibility according to the request of the market. This proves that it is possible to improve the standards of the existing plants in order to fit the market demand without, at least in the shortterm, the need for investing in more complex technologies such as cryogenic plants, which at the moment are too expensive and provide products with features not yet acknowledged bythemarket. This option is in coherence with the material recovery options that include playgrounds, sportsfileds, civil engineering applications as well as other, not yet diffused nationwide applications, such as rubberised asphalts, that could give a significant contribution to the material recovery (alt 6). On the other hand, the energy recovery of ELTs especially in cement kilns, is currently the most applied option, to the detriment of the material recovery options, but in any case acknowledged in the shortmedium term necessary to close theloopintheELTssupply chain, (alt7.).Itshouldberemarkedthatthe coexistence ofalternatives1and 7 in the same itinerary is not contradictory as it may seem. In fact, the interviewees mentioned that, also for the energy recovery destination, certain standard parameters should be constantly respected, otherwise productsmaynotfindaplaceonthenationalmarketandhavetobeexported. Coherently with these perspectives, incentives proportional to amount of ELTs treated (alt 9) would be appreciated, because it is an important support to close the loop of the supply chain, as well as incentives awarding the technological innovation and the vertical integration among the activities of treatment and valorization in the supply chain (alt 10). Also a mix of the economic supporting intiatives would be helpful (alt12). Finally,mostoftheitinerariesconvergeontheurgeofimplementingtheGPP,asaneffectivetooltosupport thematerialrecoverysupplychain. 29 6 6 6 7 7 7 9 10 12 9 10 12 13 13 13 13 13 13

Asregardstheitinerariespreferredfortheweaknesses,themainresultsare WMd 12 Andthepreferreditinerariesare: Itinerariespreferredforweaknesses 3 3 These itineraries overlap for three nodes out of four (3610), outlining a well defined pathway towards the development of the material recovery supply chain, through the implementation and incentives of innovative technologies such as devulcanization. This would expand the range of applications and also consolidatethecurrentmaterialrecoveryalternatives.Arelevantpointemerginghere,istheimportanceof acorrectimplementationofthesectorallegislation. Regardingtheitinerariespreferredfortheopportunities: Omd 13.5 Theitinerariesarethefollowing: Itinerariespreferredfortheopportunities 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 3 5 5 6 6 8 8 5 5 6 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 30 13 14 13 14 13 14 13 14 13 Omax 16 nI>Omd 131 nI<Omd 125 6 6 10 10 14 16 Wmin 9 nI>WMd 80 NI<WMd 84

3 3 3

6 8 8

10 10 10

14 13 14

Itineraries preferred for the opportunities include either alternative 1 and 3 for the technological node. Alternative 1 suggests that a production carried out according to high qualitative standards allows for a consolidation on the market of more reliable organisations that are also able to create a connection with the valorization market. On the other hand, devulcanization (alt 3) is seen as the technology that may be able to transform completely the market of ELTs rubber material. In fact, devulcanized rubber may be introduced both in the closedloop supply chain of tires and also in other applications, substituting virgin rubbermaterial(especiallyincaseofrisingprices). Regarding the applications of treated materials, recycling within the tire supply chain and in high tech blends is considered to be a winning solution that would allow to close the loop of the supply chain (alt5 ). However,alsootherapplicationssuchasrubberisedasphalts,acousticinsonorizationandothertypeoflow tech blends are of interest. Also a mix of application would be positive for its subsidiarity role (alt 8). Economical incentives are considered useful when they award innovation and integration with the valorization market. For instance, the application of a reduced VAT on recycled products, the support to the implementationofproductsstandardizationprocedures,etc. The GPP implementation is seen as the most powerful stimulus for public bodies and municipalities to the green purchasing, which could be a good starter of the recycled items market. Also the sound implementationoflegislationiswishedforthecorrectfunctioningofthesupplychain(alt13and14). Regardingtheitinerariespreferredforthreats: TMd 11.5 TMin 10 nI>TMd 128 nI<TMd 128

Theitinerariesarethefollowing: Itinerariespreferredforthreats: 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 31 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 13 14 15 16 13 14 15

1 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

11 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11

16 13 14 15 16 13 14 15 16 13 14 15 16 13 14 15 16

For these itineraries the threats are less relevant and in fact they roughly correspond to the itineraries preferred for the opportunities. The implementation of the different nodes of the itineraries should contribute to reduce the threats. Other itineraries are present, which foresee the coexistence of different ELTs treatment technologies, confirming that, at least in the shortmedium time, the subsidiarity of the alternatives is important. Regarding the application scenarios, the itineraries converge on alternative 6, whichincludesthemoretraditionalapplicationsandthenewapplicationsthatcouldprovidetheabsorption ofsignificantamountsoftreatedELTs.Amongtheeconomicalincentives,thoseawardingtheinnovationare preferred but also those awarding the ecological footprint (alt 11) are considered interesting, even though the operators admit that, currently, this aspect is not taken in consideration at all (except the obvious recognition of the advantages of any treatment alternative in comparison to landfilling or even worse illigal dispersion). Very often, in fact, operators prefer not to mention the recycled origins of their products, since thischaracteristisnotrewardingonthemarket. Asforthenoneconomicincentiveisconcerned,theitinerariesequallyconsiderallthosesuggested. Finally,theitinerarieshavingalltheparametersabovetheaverageare: 32

Itinerarieswithalltheparametersabovetheaverage 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 7 8 8 6 6 6 6 6 6 8 6 6 10 10 10 9 9 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 12 12 10 10 10 10 10 10 11 12 12 10 10 10 33 13 14 16 13 14 13 14 15 16 13 14 16 13 14 14 13 14 13 14 16 13 13 14 13 13 14

4 4

6 6

11 11

13 14

Theitinerarieshavingalltheparametersabovetheaveragemaybeconsideredaswinningandsomeofthe alternatives are recurring more often, therefore contributing to a best itinerary. This is constituted by alternatives161013.

Figure2.Representationofthemorphologicalspaceoftheitineraries This itinerary is definitely oriented towards a development of the supply chain for the material recovery, which should increase compared to the energy recovery option, currently dominating. The itinerary foresees the improvement of the currently existing treatment technologies, without recurring, for the moment, to innovative technologies such as cryogenic treatment or even devulcanization. It is expected that this improvement will result in a natural selection of the treatment plants nationwide, favoring those plants which, with adequate investments and production management, are able to be competitive on the marketandmeetthequalitativestandardsrequiredbythevalorizationoperators. The current material valorization applications are considered to be important, and need to be further developed with other alternatives able to absorb large volumes of ELTs derived material (i.e., rubberized asphalts). In general these applications not only have the environmental advantage due to the material recovery, but also achieve excellent performances in the different sectors (anti vibration materials, playgrounds, rubberized asphalts). However, a significant effort is required to increase their success despite the opposition of most of the sectoral operators that use other materials, often with lower quality and performances, and despite the fact that most of these applications fall within the competences of public administrations,thatneedtobesensitizedontheuseofrecycledmaterials. A significant support is envisaged in case of incentives awarding the technological innovation and the market penetration efforts of the operators, also through their integration and verticalization along the supplychaintosearchfornewopportunitiesfortheirproducts. Another winning itinerary indicates the ecological footprint as a rewarding criterion, although currently this 34

isnotthe case.This criterionwould couplesynergisticallywith theeffectiveimplementation ofGPP. GPPis indeed the type of support that the supply chain operators expect from the institutions to stimulate the materialrecoverysupplychain,sinceitwouldallowtostartamarketforthedifferenttypologiesofrecycled products, as well as, based on environmental considerations, to favor the national production with respect to the imported items therefore supporting the development of a national sustainable supply chain. It is however recognized that the effective implementation of GPP is connected to the stakeholders will to cooperate and proceed in the definition of the minimal environmental criteria for the different product categories. Alternative 14, regarding the implementation of the relevant legislation, is often mentioned among the preferred itineraries. In fact, operators consider of great importance the adequate implementation of legislation relative to: end of waste definition for ELTs; TDF definition relative to ELTs content; authorization issues etc. to allow the companies for operating with more certainties in the sector. Moreover there is a strong need for sharing between sectoral operators and public controlling authorities a common language forstandardsanddefinitionofproducedmaterials. Other interesting itineraries are 361013 and 361014, where the technological alternative is focused on the devulcanization, which is raising many expectations among the operators, since it would allow the production of new materials and new applications. It is certainly considered to be the key solution towards the sustainability of the supply chain. Current experimental tests show that, together with the devulcanization, a further functionalization of the material occurs, thus allowing for its use in new blends with lower amounts of crosslinker and consequent economic advantages. The experimental processes that are drawing interest are the high pressure water jet (HPWJ), which was originally applied to produce powders and then turned out to provide also devulcanization. The process still has very high energetic consumption.Anotherexperimentaltechnologyunderdevelopmentisbasedonmicrowaves. Parallel it would be important to define the standard features of the obtained products so as to facilitate theirplacementonthemarket. Amongthebestitineraries,alternative7,relativetotheenergyrecovery,ispresentonlyonce(171014).In fact, the option of energy recovery alone is not considered to be useful for the supply chain sustainability, even though it is useful to contribute to close the loop. However potential hurdles may arise from the environmentallegislation(whichmayturnstrictertowardsincineration)andalsofromtheeconomicalcrisis ofthesector,whichmaycausethereductionofcementproductiondemand.Moreoveritisevidentthatthe development of the energy recovery sector alone hinders the development of alternative material recovery options, that are more coherent with the EU waste hierarchy and also allow to develop more complex supplychainnationwide,withmoreeconomicalfallouts. Alternative9,regardingprovisionofincentivesproportionaltotheamountoftreatedELTsispresentinonly two itineraries: if on one hand it allows to close the loop in the supply chain and to accomplish with the legislation, on the other hand it penalizes those organizations who have invested in material recovery options,whichusuallyhandleloweramountsofmaterial. Alternative 15, relative to incentives for new plants is present only in one itinerary, since the incentives provision of this kind from public bodies occurred in the past years have favored the chaotic and irrational development of this sector, with a proliferation of plants unable to operate in the supply chain in a sustainableway. 35

Alternative 2, relative to the maintenance of the status quo of the Italian treatment plants is never present in the itineraries, since none of the interviewees consider a valid option to maintain a large number of mechanicaltreatmentplantsthatprovidelowstandardqualityproductswhichtendtosaturatethenational market.Moreoverthisplantsaredefinitelyathreatsforthoseplantshavingbetterfeatures.

7.SWOTmethodologyresultstoELTsalternativerecoverycases forthecaseofGreece
TheestablishedJointAlternativeManagementSystem(JAMS)forthealternativemanagementoftiresis described,alongwiththeadoptedvalorizationroutes.TheadoptedEnergyrecoveryroutesinGreeceare discussedwithfocusonpyrolysis.ASWOTanalysiswasfurtherdevelopedforthecomparisonofpyrolysis withcombustionandtheresultsarealsopresented. SWOTanalysisforELTspyrolysis[Samoladaet.al,2012]. Internal Strengths 1.Reducedairemissions 2.Highefficiencyandenergyselfsufficient 3.Potentialmarketableproducts 4.Almostzerowastes 5.Fundingavailability(greenactivity) 6.Rawmaterialavailability 7.Typicalpyrolysisplantsaremorecompact, comparedtoincinerationplants. 8.ExistingpositivecollectionsysteminGreece 9.Existinglegislation External Opportunities 1.Extensiveresearchexpertise 2.Turnawasteintoavaluablerawmaterial highaddedvalueprocess 3.ReductionofthePRcollectionfeeofELTs 4.Minimize/eliminateabroadrecovery 5.Welldevelopedlegislativeframe 6.Fundingopportunitiesthroughdissemination programs 7.Zeronationalcompetitionnichemarket 8.Increaseenergyindependence 36

Weaknesses

1.Highinvestmentandoperationcost 2.Newtechnology,fewcommercialapplication andlackinproductstandardization 3.Viabilityisprovenonlyinlargescaleplants (>20,000t/yr) 4.JAMSlowinterest

Threats 1.Public'sgreatskepticism 2.LackinenvironmentalstandardsandBest AvailableTechnologies(BATs) 3.Unstableeconomicenvironment. 4.Unproven/unstablemarketsforendproducts 5.Confusedlegislativeframe(pyrolysisis consideredasincineration)

SWOTanalysisforELTscombustion[Samoladaet.al,2012] Internal Strengths Weaknesses 1.Strictandexpensiveemissioncontrol 2.Highinvestmentandoperationcostforshreddingand 1.Welldevelopedtechnology storage 2.Energysavings 3.Subsidiarypolicy 4.Lowdegreeofvaporization 3.Rawmaterialavailability 4.Existinginfrastructureofenergykilns 5.Wastesandashdisposalproblems 5.Existingemissionscontrolsystems 6.Lowmaterialsrecoverydegree 7.Lowenergyefficiency 8.Farfromzerowastemethod External Opportunities 1.Extensiveexpertiseknown technology 2.Turnawasteintoafuel 3.Minimize/eliminateabroadrecovery 4.Welldevelopedlegislativeframe Threats 1.Rawmaterialavailabilityandprice 2.Potentialsubstitutionofthewaste 3.Strongpublic'sopposition 4.Unstableeconomicenvironment. 5.Strongemissionsenvironmentalconcern

8.Discussion
TheSWOTanalysisreportedindeliverable3.3.1reportsontheItalianscenarioofEndofLifetires management,currentlyunderdevelopment.Theaimoftheanalysiswastocollectthepointofviewon technicalissuesfromthemainstakeholdersandtheiropinionsonthesuitablestrategiesforthe developmentofaELTssupplychainmanagementthatcouldguaranteebothsustainabilityandlegislative compliance.Startingfromthepresentsituation,inwhichenergyrecoveryhaslargerweightcomparedto materialrecoveryoptions,theefforttomakemoresustainablethesupplychainistoboostthematerial recoveryoptions.Tothisend,anumberoftechnologiesarestartingtobedeveloped,andcouldresultas winninginthelongterm(e.g.,ELTsrubberdevulcanisation). Theanalysisactuallyincludedtheoverallsupplychainofendoflifetires,amongwhichtheapplicationin rubberizedasphaltisacknowledged,bytherepresentativesofthemainstakeholders,asbeingoneofthe mostpromisingvalorizationsteps,atleastinthemidtermperiod,tohelpthefuturedevelopment towardsamoresustainablesupplychain. Stakeholdersrecognizedrubberizedasphaltsasbeingoneofthemostpromisingapplications,andoneof themaindriversforthedevelopmentofmaterialrecoveryoptions,bothcapableofabsorbinglarge quantitiesofELTs,andofprovidingtheaddedvalueofahighperformanceproductfromthetechnicalpoint ofview,asrecognizedbytechnicalstudiesonrubberizedasphalt. However,intervieweesrecognizedthatinordertoboostthisapplication,itisofutmostimportanceto implementsupportingtools,suchastheGreenPublicProcurementonroads,andtothisaimtheycallfor theEnvironmentMinistryintervention.Thisapproachmaybeofhelpalsotostimulatetoachangeofthe perceivedattitudebypushingtheoperatorsinthesectorofasphaltsandantivibrationstructureswhodo 37

notseemtobeinterestedinimprovingthequalityandthedurationoftheirproductsandthereforedonot cooperateforthediffusionoftheseapplications. TheresultsoftheSWOTanalysishavebeensharedandaregoingtobediscussedbackwiththe interviewees,especiallyEcopneusandUnirigom(whohavelongexperienceonthisfield1),sothatthe documentmaybeofsupportinfuturediscussiontablestowhichthesestakeholdersdousuallytakepart. TheresultsofthisSWOTanalysishavenotbeenpresentedyettoanyscientificconference,butSSSUPis planningtosubmitthisworktothecomingSDEWES2013ConferenceinDubrovnik.

9.Conclusions
The overall survey allowed to draw the picture of the current ELTs supply chain scenario and of the future scenariowhichcouldguaranteebothsustainabilityandlegislativecompliance. The survey was carried out in a time frame short after the implementation of the extended producer responsibility principle (art 128 dlGS 152/2006 e DM 82 April 2011) with the establishment of organizations thattookacoordinatingroleofthestakeholdersofthesupplychain. The current scenario highlights the presence of a large number of companies also in the treatment step, established thanks to the incentives provision and without a sound assessment of the business plans. Therefore the average production standards are not in general considered to be acceptable from the valorization operators. In this scenario organizations responsible for the EPR system such as Ecopneus (the largest) and Greentyre, representing a smaller number of importers, started their activity with the aim of developing a sustainable supply chain in parallel with the obliged compliance with the current legislation. Also Unirigom was involved in this perspective as well as the (only) Hellenic Alternative Management SystemEcoElastica. The opinion leaders involved agreed on the need to improve the qualitative standards of the existing treatmentplantsand thatthiswouldbealreadysufficient todirect the development towardssustainability. In parallel, the attention is also focused on technological developments of devulcanization for instance, which in the long term is considered to be the winning solution. As regards the destination of the treated materials, starting from the current scenario which privileges the energy recovery nationwide as well as in foreign countries where the material are exported to. The energy recovery alone is not suitable for an adequate development of the material recovery alternatives, which are instead to be supported both according to the EU waste hierarchy and for the economic development connected. To this aim, together with the technological fitting, economic and non economic incentives are also needed in order to award both the technological innovation and the building of the products valorization through GPP implementation, lobbying activities, communication actions for the diffusion of products among consumers and other stakeholders. The stakeholders are aware that energy recovery is necessary in the shortmedium term in order to comply with the legislation, but they recognize the need to further efforts towards the material recovery supply chain development. In fact, there is a concrete risk that the predominance of the energy recovery may lead to a loss of competitiveness of companies operating in the material recovery up totheirdisappearance.
Forinstance,EcopneusparticipatestotheGPPtablesorganizedbytheMATTM(EnvironmentMinistry)onRoadsand worksinsynergywithDr.SilvanoFalocco,GPPnetCoordinator.
1

38

References
SamoladaM.C.,ZabaniotouA.A.(2012),Potentialapplicationofpyrolysisfortheeffectivevalorisationofthe endoflifetiresinGreece,EnvironmentalDevelopment,Volume4,Pages7387.

39