Circular composites from end-of-life tyres, footwear, textiles and wood — Horizon Europe consortium

This project addresses the lack of scalable recovery pathways for complex, multi-material waste streams currently ending in landfill or incineration across Europe.The concept recovers secondary raw materials from four complementary waste flows — end-of-life tyres, footwear soles, textile residues and wood waste — transforming them into engineered rubber-polymer and wood-fibre composites with verified industrial performance.

Target applications:Urban furniture, fence posts and street infrastructure; Construction insulation and acoustic panels; Asphalt modification; Manhole covers and drainage grates (cast iron replacement); Anti-vibration pads and industrial work surfaces; Impact-absorbing walkways and platforms. The initiative promotes industrial symbiosis across waste streams, replaces virgin raw materials and cast iron components, and contributes directly to EU circular economy targets and the Clean Industrial Deal framework. The project is aligned with EU Taxonomy objectives — circular economy, climate change mitigation and DNSH compliance — and is being structured for a Horizon Europe consortium application. Partners sought:Industrial processors and composite manufacturers; Municipalities and utility operators; R&D organisations and universities; Certification and standardisation bodies; Waste pre-processing technology providers; Open to consortium discussions, letters of intent and pilot application proposals.