How Does a Tire Recycling Business Work?
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Collection of Tires
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There are a variety of ways that tire recycling businesses collect used tires. Consumers and companies are one source of used tires. Sometimes dumping site cleanup yields tires that tire recycling businesses use. Landfills are another place where tire recycling businesses collect tires.
Separating Tires
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Once the tire recycling business has tires, it has to sort them. It has to physically inspect the tires to determine where they go. There are four categories that all tires fall into. These categories are whole tires, cut tires, shredded tires and crumb rubber.
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Whole Tires
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There are multitudes of ways whole tires get recycled. Some whole tires go to resellers who retread the tires. Other tires become barriers after binding them together. These barriers include wave action barriers, erosion control barriers, collision barriers and rainwater runoff barriers. The apparel industry uses whole tire pieces to manufacture apparel such as shoes. Tire recycling companies sometimes grind whole tires into crumb rubber.
Cut or Shredded Tires
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The most common way to recycle cut or shredded tires is by turning them into medium crumb rubber. This then becomes rubber mulch. These tires can also be ground into finer pieces, becoming crumb rubber. If the tire is largely intact, the tire can make apparel. The tire recycling companies grind up the rubber of badly cut or shredded tires to make ground or crumb rubber.
Crumb Rubber
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Tire recycling companies have special equipment to turn otherwise damaged tires into a usable product. This equipment cuts the tires into tiny pieces. This type of product is crumb rubber. Paving and moldable projects both use crumb rubber. Some examples of crumb rubber paving include rubber modified concrete and rubber modified asphalt. Moldable projects include carpet padding, flooring materials, boat dock bumpers, patio decks and rubber tiles or bricks. Crumb rubber goes into stress-absorbing surfaces for athletic tracks. Crumb rubber also goes into the manufacturing of several auto parts such as brake pads, brake shoes and vehicle acoustic insulation. Small percentages of crumb rubber go into manufacturing new tires.
Selling
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Tire recycling businesses sell the tires to companies who recycle them. They match their customers' needs with what they have in stock. Many times businesses have standing requests with tire manufacturing companies for their needs. The tire manufacturing company ensures the delivery of a specific type of recyclable tire, such as ground rubber or whole tires. Tire recycling companies sell the recycled tire rubber by weight.
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