How Are Car Tires Recycled?
The millions of tons of scrapped tires lying around in the U.S. at any given time presents many environmental problems and are a waste of usable material. Since landfills prefer not to take these bulky objects, piles of old tires deteriorate, drawing mosquitoes, releasing harmful methane gas and creating a potential fire hazard, according to Environment-Green. Recycling these tires, either by breaking them down into new forms or repurposing entire tires, can put these pieces of junk to a variety of new and constructive uses.
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Collection
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Recycling begins with public action. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, local governments encourage citizens to bring their old tires to recycling centers or drop-off sites, while at the same time imposing laws against unauthorized tire dumping to reinforce proper disposal. In some cases, state governments will provide funding for tire "amnesty" days to promote tire disposal efforts. Recycling centers accept the waste tires and sort them by their condition.
Shredding
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Once the recycling company has removed the steel bead from inside the tires, the remaining rubberized components may go through mechanical shredding, cutting or stamping processes to convert chunks of them into new products. These products may include parts for cars or household appliances, soles for shoes, floor mats and belts.
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Retreading
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In many cases, a tire requiring only new tread may go back on the road. A tire manufacturer can strip the old tread off the tire and replace it with new tread. Since a retreaded tire uses only 7 gallons of oil in its production, as opposed to 22 gallons for each new tire produced, retreading represents an annual oil savings in the millions of gallons. Industrial and governmental organizations make extensive use of retreaded tires in their vehicles.
Repurposing
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Crumbled or shredded tires make a good material for playground surfaces, offering a softer landing area than the gravel or pebbles traditionally used to cover schoolyards. Schools may either dump the crumbled tires onto the playground in loose form or create a soft foam surface by using heat to fuse the pieces together. These surfaces make playgrounds both safer and more comfortable for students. Intact tires may fit together into long chains to act as protective barriers for car racetracks or as frameworks for artificial reef systems. State and local governments also use asphalt made from tire rubber.
Fuel
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Today's tires may find a new life as tomorrow's fuel. Various projects continue to explore methods of using heat to reduce tires into chemical byproducts such as oils, gases or carbon black, helping to conserve the crude oil normally used to produce these products. The EPA has funded pyrolysis research to examine the many possible uses of such byproducts.
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References
- Photo Credit stack of old tires image by JoLin from Fotolia.com
