Tyre manufacturer, Continental, came together with a selection of partners under the motto, “Turning racing tyres into living space”, to officially open a new basketball court made up of 200 recycled racing tyres from the Extreme E electric racing series. As a main sponsor of Extreme E, which takes place in the most extreme locations all over the world, including Saudi Arabia, Continental aims to give children and young people a lively and sustainable place to play, burn off energy and train.
“These tyres raced in Saudi Arabia, Greenland and Senegal and have now been transformed into a basketball court to help bring young people together and get them excited about sport. Through this initiative and our partnership with Extreme E, we are committed to supporting communities whenever possible and are delighted that these 200 used tyres will live another life, recycled into rubber bricks and constructed into a new basketball court for future generations to enjoy,” said Karel Kucera, Managing Director, Continental Middle East.
The court was created as part of a collaboration between the city of Hanover, property construction company Hanova, the BasKIDball project, the VIA Linden and Serve the City Hannover associations and the SV Linden 07 club, on whose premises the half-court has been built. Elastomer processing company, REGUPOL, handled the transformation of the tyres into rubber paving blocks, and the court was assembled by Hanover-based company, Kretschmer.
Continental’s tyres sector is pursuing a holistic approach to sustainability across all phases of the tyre value chain and has set itself the mission of becoming the most progressive tyre company in terms of environmental and social responsibility by 2030. For Continental, circular economy-based solutions represent an important route to achieving its ambitious goal of carbon neutrality throughout its value chain by 2050 at the latest. To this end, Continental is driving ahead with technologies and processes designed to constantly improve those solutions, including its sustainable alternative to natural rubber, derived from dandelions.
Fans of Extreme E can follow this year’s Saudi Arabian leg of the series from 11-12 March.
