Automotive supplier Continental, still recovering from the hit it took during the pandemic, wants to make car tyres out of old PET bottles from 2022 onward. Polyester yarn made from 60 bottles can be used to make four tyres, the German company said recently.

That may sound good because it seems eco-friendly and original, thanks especially to recycling being all the rage right now. Not surprisingly, the company’s decision also received a fair amount of media coverage. But let us, for a minute, think about the fact that the thousands of bottles that Conti is converting into tyres are being taken out of a bottle-to-bottle cycle that is already suffering. This latest “innovation” also turns up its nose at the EU directive for recycled content in PET bottles. All that glitters is, indeed, not gold – or in this case, all that’s matt is not rubber!