WASHINGTON (March 9)—A Rubber Manufacturers Association official has met with officials of the Mexican government to discuss Mexico's massive scrap tire problem and possible market-based solutions.
The presentation by Michael Blumenthal, RMA senior technical director, was part of Mexico's attempt to implement new laws to deal with solid waste issues in that country, Blumenthal said. Many of the scrap tire markets that have been successful in the U.S. would also be relevant to Mexico, such as cement kilns, civil engineering and rubberized asphalt, according to Blumenthal.
"Despite cultural differences that affect it, business is business, and the fundamentals of the scrap tire business are the same worldwide," he said.
Teodoro Maus, director at the Mexican Embassy of the Mexican environmental agency SEMARMAT, said Blumenthal's presentation was "very helpful" as to how Mexico can develop a feasible scrap tire program. There are approximately 10 million tires stockpiled along the Mexico-U.S. border, Maus added.