Israeli company turns old rubber back into... rubber

Ever since Charles Goodyear invented a novel way to vulcanize rubber making it strong and stable for tires, scientists the world over have been searching for ways to reverse the process. Millions of tons of old tires and rubber waste collect in landfills -- their chemicals leaching into our groundwater. When tires burn, pollutants fire into the sky.

While some companies have discovered ways to turn vulcanized rubber into something else -- such as fuel -- an Israeli company, Levgum, believes it has developed the best solution yet: turning the rubber back into its principle components, for reuse.

"We can deal with any rubber waste: tires, old conveyer belts, rubber from mattresses, solid tiles, anything," Ran Zamir, Levgum's CEO, tells ISRAEL21c. Basically, he adds, the company can handle any rubber waste that has been sulphur cured -- curing being the process used to stabilize the rubber, and "invented by Mr. Goodyear," says Zamir.