Tires Recycled for New Uses
Did you know? Eighty percent of all tires are now recycled or reused for fuel, rubber, asphalt and agriculture.
How to Recycle Tires
Many tire stores are willing to recycle old tires for you if you buy a new set. Sometimes there’s a small fee of $2 or $3 for the recycling, which is a small price to pay for a big impact on the environment.
You can also call a tire recycling company and have them haul all that wasted rubber away. For example, a New Jersey scrap tire company will pick up any size tires (including airplane tires, too, if you’ve got those laying around). The company then markets the scrap tires to other companies that repurpose the rubber into various products.
Innovative Uses for Scrap Tires
Technology advancements have allowed new uses for recycled tires, including these three ways:
- Highway Sound Barriers: To reduce highway noise, many states are turning to absorptive sound barriers to deflect sound waves. One example is Northern Virginia’s “Whisper Wall” which starts as a mixture of concrete aggregate, cement, water, and small pieces of shredded rubber from scrap tires.
- Athletic and Recreational purposes: Major retailers across the United States sell resilient playground rubber surfaced materials made from recycled tires. This material can absorb much of the impact from falls which provides added safety for kids. It can also be used as a decorative mulch replacement.
- Railroad Ties: Rubber encased railroad ties are being produced using scrap tires that have a steel beam core filled with concrete. These new railroad ties are highly durable and 200 percent stronger than wooden ties, which results in fewer ties being needed per mile. These new ties also last between 60 to 90 years instead of the 5 to 30 years for wooden ones.
Let’s grow that number of tires being recycled to more than 80 percent. What can you do today with your tires that will have an impact on the environment? Use #RecycleGuide to share what you’re doing on Facebook and Twitter.
See also: How to Recycle Motor Oil
Photo Credit: Julie Blaustein