Why Is Tyre Recycling Important & What Are Its Benefits?

Tyres are one of the most essential pieces of equipment on your vehicle, and though you may not realise it, they wear out fast and contribute to a large portion of waste in junkyards. Around 1 billion tyres are discarded per year across the globe, landfills can’t hold it all. 

Importance Of Tyre Recycling: 

Tyres consume large amounts of valuable space and pose various threats to the environment. Due to products used in the manufacture of tyres, when caught on fire, tyres can burn for days or even months, emitting toxic pollutant gas in the process. Their hollow, round shapes can collect water and become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and waterborne disease while also trapping methane, a harmful greenhouse gas that can tear through landfill lining. Tyres are also, unfortunately, non-biodegradable, which means that they will continue to fill waste sites to the brim for years to come without breaking down or decomposing.

Until a few years ago there was nothing being done about this problem, however today, as many as 90% of stockpiled, waste tyres have been successfully recycled. Recycling tyres is an environmentally friendly way to dispose of old tyres to create something new. 

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How Are Tyres Recycled?

When Tyres are industrially recycled, they are shredded or ground. This material can be used to create reclaim rubber by selectively breaking chemical bonds (partial de-vulcanisation). Reclaim rubber has almost the original plasticity of the tyre, allowing it to be used in tyre production, and the manufacture of footwear, tyre retreading material, belting, automotive mats and various other moulded rubber goods. So essentially, your scrap tyres can be used to make almost any rubber product!

Other uses of shredded tyres include the creation of speed bumps, highway crash bumpers, and ground cover for safer playgrounds or vibration-reducing material for railway lines due to its shock-absorbing qualities. It can also be mixed with asphalt and concrete to serve as construction material or used to make rubberized asphalt to resurface roads. Tyre durability is not only useful on the road but also allows the rubber to be used as dock bumpers, sidewalk material and roadway curbing. The material finds its way into the manufacture of all sorts of other products, including floor mats, garden mulch, engine belts, erosion control barriers and more. Old tyres can also be used simply around the house, being repurposed as swings, garden planters, artwork, and more

As rubber burns well, it is sometimes also used as a fuel in industrial processes. Tyre derived fuel is harmful to the environment, as aforementioned, however when burned in factories, this fuel can provide 25% more energy than coal while minimising emissions. 

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To conclude, tyre recycling conserves land space, creates new products, prevents the spread of disease to a certain extent, creates jobs, and is most importantly good for the planet. So while we understand that the process can be time consuming and expensive, keep in mind what you are doing to make the world a better place.