Recycling Articles : Recycling Tyres

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All too often tyres are dumped or burned, releasing noxious gases that are harmful to both humans and animals. Tyres are made from vulcanised rubber and it is partly the vulcanisation process which adds chemicals to tyres that could be harmful to the environment. When dumped in a landfill, a tyre takes hundreds of years to disintegrate completely.

One process for dealing with discarded or used tyres is called retreading. it involves replacing the worn down “tread” of the tyre, the part that is in contact with the road. There are legal criteria for doing this properly, for example in the UK truck tyres can be retreaded legally three times and car tyres once in order to ensure that repaired tyres are safe.

Currently 50% of all UK truck and aeroplane tyres are retraded but unfortunately this is becoming less common as budget tyres imported from overseas are beginning to flood the market and undercut the cost of retreading.

Other uses for used tyres are now beginning to the fore with “tyre chipping” becoming increasingly more common. With tyre chipping, landfill companies buy tyres from recycling centres and then cut them into chips and convert them into grain for use as chushioning material for play parks or as carpet underlay. There is also the option of devulcanising tyres and converting them into poor quality rubber to be made into new tyres or other products.

When a tyre goes to a landfill it is often used to create a drainage system to prevent the massive mound of rubbish from imbibing too much water and slipping. However, unfortunately, this only allows the toxic chemicals released by vulcanised tires as they decompose to leach into rivers and waterways more easily.

Above all, driving with less wear and tear on tyres will lead to less waste and less need for recycling. Check your tyre pressure regularly and break slowly when possible. You can always purchase retreaded tyres or ask the retailer to recycle your old tyres when they are replaced. If we can each prevent a few more tyres from being thrown into landfill sites then we will be doing our bit to prevent toxic leaching.

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