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Japanese plastics company Teijin is claiming that a new polyester fibre recycling process will enable it to produce the world's first recycled tyre fibres.

Teijin claims the Ecopet Plus fibre, made through a closed-loop recycling process called Eco Circle, meets the standards for tyre carcass fabric and will be used in Toyo Tire and Rubber's tyres for environmentally friendly cars from this week.

Teijin subsidary Union Tire Cord is to process the material to make it suitable for use. Teijin has set a target of about 50,000 tyres in 2009 rising to 150,000 in 2011 for the material.

Tyre cords need to be strong and elastic and to adhere to the rubber. Conventional recycling of polyester cords has not produced the required quality, Teijin said, but a new method of ehcmically decomposing polyester produces a material like pure polyester that can be used.