Tire Recycling and the Environment: Benefits and Challenges

Recycling tire

Tire Recycling and the Environment: Benefits and Challenges

Tires do have a life span. When they get old, worn out, and damaged, we dump them in landfills. According to Goldstein Research, over 1.6 billion new tires are manufactured every year, and around 1 billion waste tires are generated. The tires are indestructible and create a lot of environmental issues.

The leading recycling companies are implementing advanced technologies and equipment to boost the recycling processes. For instance, rubber tire powder obtained by recycling tires replaces many primary materials these days. And at the same time, it is environment-friendly. However, efforts are going on to reduce the piling up of tires in landfills.

 

What is tire recycling?

Tire recycling is a process of recycling used waste tires that are of no use because of wear and tear. The waste tires are recycled to convert into materials for manufacturing new products in the recycling process.

The waste tires that get dumped into the landfill are a pressing issue. These waste tires are problematic and occupy a vast place because of their 75% void space. They cause catastrophic fires, become insects’ habitats, trap methane gas, and more.

They are non-biodegradable, and when dumped in landfills, they contaminate the soil and groundwater, creating health and ecological issues.

Therefore, the best solution to tackle the problems created by solid waste or tire waste is recycling.

 

Benefits of Tire Recycling

Recycling rubber tires reduces the millions of scrap tires being dumped into landfills annually. It helps create ecological balance by reducing waste and generating several products through the recycling process.

There are many benefits of recycling waste tires; find out here what they are:

1. Conservation of Landfill

As the tires are large, they occupy a considerable space of landfills. They take hundreds of years to decompose. Recycling rubber tires thus ensures the soil and groundwater are safe. They do not get into water bodies or open areas, or habitats. Therefore, recycling saves the environment from a lot of damage.

2. Recycling Creates New Beneficial Products

Recycling waste tires creates new products such as rubber tire powder, crumb rubber, rubber mulch, granules, and more. Rubber tire powder is a low-cost and high-performance product. It slows the ageing of roads and reduces noise.

Crumb rubber is also extensively used as ground cover, surface material for athletic tracks, etc. It is also helpful in making other products like rubber mats, speed bumps, and more. Rubber mulch is helpful in the gardens; it keeps the insects and weeds away.

3. Recycled Rubber Reduces Carbon Footprint

Recycling saves a lot of energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Recycled rubber products reduce the carbon footprint compared to the use of plastic.

4. Recycling Creates Jobs

Waste tire recycling is an economically sound activity that contributes to creating jobs.

5. Recycling Tires Prevents Diseases

When tires get discarded, they become home to many insects, rodents, etc. With water stagnation in the tires, they become breeding places for mosquitoes. Recycling tires helps eliminate all these issues and saves us from several diseases.

6. Prevents Pollution Caused by Tire Fires

Old tires, when get dumped or discarded, are prone to fires. When the tires burn, they cause massive damage to the environment. The burning fire releases smoke and toxic chemicals. When the fire gets extinguished with water and other agents, it contaminates the groundwater. However, recycling helps in reducing such incidents.

 

Challenges of Tire Recycling

The task of recycling tires is a tedious process. The process of recycling tires is not as easy as other materials. It requires a lot of effort, technology, and equipment to tackle the process successfully. There are a few reasons that make the process of tire recycling cumbersome.

1. Tires are Heavy and Big

The tires are huge and bulky, and therefore it is challenging to transport them to recycling locations. It involves a lot of effort to get them transported from one place to another. That is why most scrap yard owners prefer to burn the tires instead of sending them to the recycling location.

2. Tires Consists of Complex Materials

However, the advancement in technology has solved many problems. The tires are manufactured with complex and many mixed materials. It complicates the process of recycling. The process becomes more straightforward when the materials are easily separated and segregated.

3. Processing Tires to Rubber is Challenging

The most challenging part of recycling is receiving waste tires, sorting, cleaning, and applying primary processing. Contamination is another recycling challenge. It is about the chemical contamination and contamination with dirt, rims, nails, and more. If these are not deducted and removed, it may cause problems to workers or become hard in processing. The other challenge faced is streaming the type and size of the tire. Another complex procedure is to separate steel wire from rubber.

Also Read: What Happens To Worn-Out Tires?

Conclusion

Tire recycling is a process that has many economic, environmental, and societal benefits. MetPlast is a leading international organisation that alleviates scrap tire problems and creates jobs. We are a one-stop destination for high-quality scrap rubber products at competitive products. You can join us in making the world a better place by procuring these products.