Other

We also process a number of smaller waste streams like car tyres, diapers and clothing. From a worn out car tyre, for example, we make the raw materials for artificial grass. And a full diaper is full of green energy!

Van Gansewinkel collects old tyres from local government and the automotive industry. A car tyre is 90% recyclable. The main raw material is natural rubber. In its next life this rubber could be found on a sports field, reused in the construction of stretches of artificial grass. Every year we collect about 10,000 tons of tyres, enough rubber to build around 166 hockey pitches. We also provide the rubber to road building companies who use it in the construction of noise proof asphalt.

But a car tyre consists of more than just rubber. We also take out the metal which is sold on to the steel industry. The remaining 10% is incinerated and reused for energy production.

Diapers
In the Netherlands and Belgium, Van Gansewinkel is a major collector of disposable diapers and incontinence materials. Local governments, childcare and healthcare centres are the main customers. We leave part of the diapers fermenting and composting and the rest are incinerated at our power plants.

A useful application – biogas – is released by the diaper fermentation process. After fermentation, the diaper and the other materials are composted and the plastic is used to generate energy at our combustion plant.