Background Europe produces some 3.2 million tonnes/yr of waste tyres. The properties that make rubber tyres desirable as a consumer product, such as durability, heat resistance and traction, also make their disposal and reprocessing difficult. They are almost immune to biological degradation. When tyres are not properly managed and disposed of, they represent certain risks to public health and to the environment. Although the Landfill and End of Life Directives are having a positive impact on the management of ‘end of life’ tyre waste, over reliance on rubber-derived products, particularly tyres, still continues. Objectives The DEPOTEC project proposes a depolymerisation process which will add value to the waste tyres by producing products that can be used as substitute carbon filler materials in the rubber manufacturing process. The current carbon filler materials have high emissions associated with their production processes. This will ultimately lead to a reduction in stockpiling of tyres as they will now become valuable raw materials for the production of these products. It will also offer an alternative to burning end of life tyres to produce tyre-derived fuel. The project aims to design, plan and construct a demonstration ‘ZeroWaste’ plant for depolymerisation of end-of-life tyres that is able to recycle a significant quantity of waste tyres per year and be financially viable on the basis of its byproducts. This plant will be self sustained, and new products will be created from waste with minimal energy consumption. The project aims to demonstrate the viability of future mainstreaming of the process by processing a significant volume of end-of-life tyres into a microporous carbon material with absorbent properties over the duration of the project. The most effective testing procedures, based on current best practise, for gauging the technical quality of the products of this process will be assessed and the project will also contribute to the development of a comprehensive series of environmental standards that will facilitate the accreditation of the products of recycling of end-of-life tyres (e.g. through the European Eco-Label). The overall end result will be the development of a technology that can be transferred and utilised throughout Europe to enable value-added products to be produced from waste. Expected results: A state-of-the-art survey and comparative study identifying best practice for viable and sustainable depolymerisation processes for end-of-life tyres; The design, feasibility study and construction of a prototype facility for the depolymerisation of end-of-life tyres, capable of processing 1 000 tonnes/yr; The production of 330 tonnes of carbon filler/1 000 tonnes of tyres using end-of-life tyres as a feedstock; The development of activated carbons of highly microporous form with both high internal surface area and porosity; The diversion of 1 000 tonnes/yr of used tyres from landfill or incineration, saving significant CO2 emissions and around 320 KWh of energy per tonne in relation to conventional forms of recycling of waste tyres; and The production and upgrading of some 330 tonnes of a carbon product through this process, and demonstration of its properties as equivalent to commercially available materials.