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-3.7 billion U.S. dollars) worth of raw materials, such as steel, CTRA statistics show.

Source: Xinhua