subject: Recycling Your Old Tyres [print this page] Recycling Your Old Tyres Recycling Your Old Tyres
Even though tyre manufacturers pour huge amounts of money into tyre development with new, longer lasting designs and compounds, there is always the inevitable situation where tyres must be replaced. Tyres can be retread up to a certain number of times and only as long as they have been taken care of; but at some point in their lifetime, a retread may cause the structural integrity of the tyre to fail, risking the lives of the driver, its passengers and also other road users.
This situation has meant that landfills with massive heaps of used tyres has become commonplace. Though, hopefully, this sight may become less common as people and businesses dispose of or recycle their tyres in more environmentally friendly ways. But what can you do with your old tyres once they have reached the end of their lifespan?
There are many ways that people can recycle their old car tyres themselves, though most people pay a small fee for the person or business replacing their tyres to dispose of them on their behalf.
The fact that rubber is almost resistant to rot means that using old tyres in a garden environment is a great method for recycling. Popular ways that many people like to make use of old tyres are plant pots, compost bins or even garden bedding. A compost bin can be easily made just by stacking old tyres on top of each other, plus the rubber attracts heat, further improving its usefulness in this arrangement.
There are many other ways that old car tyres are recycled, the list below details the more common methods.
Reprocessing - It is possible to shred used tyres down into small fragments which can be used for other applications such as road construction, soles for shoes, carpet underlay and also surface material for sports and play areas.
Fuel - A very small proportion of used tyres are used to substitute coal in cement kilns, though due to stringent air emission limits, this particular use is severely limited.
Other purposes - The possibilities for used tyre recycling are almost limitless. Old tyres are commonly used as play things in children's play areas, noise insulation in many applications, and crash protection barriers at racetracks.
In general terms, there are many ways in which you can help the environment, though one of the easiest is by recycling or reusing your old vehicle tyres. As stated, old tyres can be used for a variety of applications around your home or garden, some people even make tyres into sculptures! So by recycling your old tyres, you can feel happy that you are doing your bit for the environment.
