China tire retreading association pledges more efforts to save resources
11/1/2006 11:29
The China Tire Retreading and Utilization Association has changed its name
to the China Tire Retreading, Repairing, and Recycling Association (CTRA),
answering the central government's call for building a resources-saving society
and recycling economy.
"The old version of the association's name cannot
cover all of the businesses that have been carried out," CTRA President Jiang
Zhiyun said.
The name changing has won the approval of the State Development
and Reform Commission, the State-Owned Assets and Administration Commission, and
the Ministry of Civil Affairs, he said.
"It also aims to push the development
of the industry of tire retreading and recycling, in a bid to save resources and
protect environment," he said, adding that used tires are not "junk," but
precious resources.
"It's a major channel to save energy and raw materials
like rubber by making best recycle of used tires, and it can also eliminate the
'black pollution caused by worn tires," he added.
According to statistics of
the CTRA, China consumed a total of 3.4 million tons of rubber in 2004, topping
all the other countries in the world. However, 70 percent of Chinese rubber was
imported from other countries.
Among thousands of rubber products, the auto
industry took up 63 percent of the total rubber consumption in China, including
55 percent in tires.
In 2004, China manufactured 239 million tires, ranking
the second in the world. Meanwhile, China produced 120 million worn tires, and
the number continued to grew by 12 percent year on year, CTRA statistics
show.
CTRA was founded in April 1987 and is the country's only national
association for tire retreading and recycling.
In the past years, CTRA has
saved nearly 1.9 million tons of rubber by tire retreading and recycling and
also saved 20 billion-30 billion yuan (2.5 billion-US$3.7 billion) worth of raw
materials, such as steel, CTRA statistics show.
Xinhua
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