HANOVER, Germany — Continental A.G. is increasing the proportion of recycled materials in its tires as more plants are converted to use polyester fabric made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles.
Cont said recently it has increased the recycled content of many of its tire lines by an average of 3%. Depending on the tire size, up to 15 PET bottles are used per tire through Continental's ContiRe.Tex technology.
The process spins recycled bottles directly into polyester yarn with intermediate chemical steps while maintaining the strength of conventional polyester yarns.
The technology has been used on a small scale since 2022 at the tire plants in Lousado, Portugal, and Otrokovice, Czech Republic, but it has seen success, the kind that underscores Continental's commitment to more sustainable products and operations.
"Reduce, reuse, recycle — this trio is key to more sustainable tires," Jorge Almeida, head of sustainability for Continental Tires, said in a statement.
"Wherever possible, we use recycled materials while maintaining our highest quality standards. Our polyester yarn made from recycled PET bottles is just as strong as conventional polyester yarn. This shows that sustainability, performance, and safety go hand in hand at Continental."
Continental has now extended the technology to tire plants in Korbach, Germany, and Sarreguemines, France, which recently started using recycled PET bottles in series production.
The switch is part of Continental's sustainability strategy that eyes more than 40% renewable and recycled materials in tires by 2030. Specifically, the German tire maker is working on various technologies to convert to 100% sustainable PETs in tires by decade's end.
In addition to recycled PET bottles, the German manufacturer is also investing in technologies such as the use of bio-based or chemically recycled PET.
