Tyre manufacturer Continental came together with a selection of partners today under the motto “Turning racing tyres into living space” to officially open a new basketball court in the Linden-Süd district of Hanover. But this is no ordinary court – the playing surface has been constructed using 200 recycled racing tyres from the sustainable Extreme E electric racing series, which Continental supports as a main sponsor. The basketball court aims to give children and young people a lively place to play, burn off energy and train.
“These tyres raced in Saudi Arabia, Greenland and Senegal. And now, in the form of a basketball court, they are helping to bring young people together and get them excited about sport,” explains Christian Kötz, Member of the Executive Board Tires at Continental. “We’re delighted that the Extreme E tyres are getting a second life after the end of their racing career. Circularity – in this case the reuse and continued use of tyres – is an important area, and one in which Continental is working hard.”
Hanover’s Mayor, Belit Onay: “We would like to thank Continental and all those involved for this new basketball court, which creates a new space for kids and young people and brings sport and sustainability together in the same conversation,” said Mayor Onay. “Initiatives like these show what is possible when so many people help to turn a community project into reality in our city. I’m really grateful for all their contributions.”
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.
With the first few passes on the court, Kötz and Onay duly handed it over to the kids and young people from the BasKIDball project, a Germany-wide initiative that aims to use sport to break through barriers and shine the spotlight on the social side of group participation.
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.
