Everything has an expiry date, and so do tyres. Once a tyre becomes old or irreparable, most people dump it in landfill sites, which is not healthy for the environment. A pile of tyres can cause a fire at the location that won’t be easy to put out.
Used tyres can be a home for insects, like mosquitos, causing harmful diseases to the people around. So, tyre disposal should be done in a proper manner, keeping in mind its effects on health as well as environment.
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Before going into the steps for disposing of tyres, you need to know what tyre recycling is.
Tyre recycling
Tyre recycling refers to the processing of old and used tyres to make them reusable. It involves converting the waste into raw material, which can later turn into a useful product.
When you dispose of a large stock of tyres in landfills, it becomes a threat to nature because there may not be enough space. Improper disposal of tyres is one of the significant reasons for global warming. That is why recycling tyres is important.
Process of Tyre Recycling
Tyre recycling is a lengthy process and demands a lot of effort. Following are the steps involved in the process of recycling:
Collecting Disposed Tyres
The first step is to collect the waste tyres from different locations. Some people even send these old tyres to businesses that deal in the tyre recycling process. In return, the dealer pays them a few bucks.
Processing of Tyres
After the collected tyres reach the plant for processing, you have to shred them into small pieces. This stage is known as Shredding. You have to reduce the size of the tyre in such a way that the remaining material becomes easy to handle.
Shredders diminish these tyres to a 2-inch size. Now, the tyres have turned into raw materials that can be a great source of fuel.
Processing of tyres can use two main systems – Mechanical and Cryogenic.
Mechanical System: In this system, you shred the tyres into small chips at room temperature. Using the granulator machine, you can trace the size of the shred.
Cryogenic system: This system uses low temperature by freezing the rubber to diminish it into small chips. You can use liquid nitrogen to freeze them down.
Liberating steel from the material
The next step is to separate and remove steel wires from the material. Steel wires are the strength and resilience of a tyre. So, to weaken the tyre, you have to eliminate them entirely. However, these wires are not waste and can come in handy in the manufacturing of new tyres.
You can use the remaining rubber, known as rubber mulch, on the playground as turfs.
Screening
Screening is the observation stage of the process. You have to observe whether there are any more steel wires on the tyre. After that, you will be able to categorise the large pile of tyres based on their size.
Screening also involves reducing large pieces of rubber into smaller ones. After that, you need to clean the mess created during the above process.
Final product
In the last step, the rubber is ready for transportation. This stage involves packing the final product and delivering it to the factories for further production. Many rubber shoe manufacturers use this rubber for production. So, you can always sell it to them.
What should you do with old and used tyres?
Instead of throwing away your old tyres, you can try the following methods for disposing of them:
Sell it to a garage
You can sell the worn-out tyre to garages or tyre companies and get some cash in your hands. They can even exchange your old car tyres for new ones. It saves a lot of your money as the cost includes transportation, administration, storage, etc.
Take or donate them to the Park
Tyres take a considerably long time in decomposition. It can take up to 80 years for a tyre to decompose in a landfill. So, it is better to donate them to parks for the children or the zoo. The tyre can become a new toy for the kids or a plaything for the animals.
Do it yourself
Get creative with the old wheel. Craft it into something that can become a part of your home décor. Some people even make sculptors with these tyres. Converting them into a mirror frame is also an efficient option.
You can try making chairs, coffee tables, and even use them for lighting purpose.
You can also go for DIY tyre projects.
Send to a Recycling centre
Just pick up all the waste, including tyres, and take it to any recycling centre. Make sure the centre has enough space for the tyres.
Many sites have put a limit on the number of tyres you can take. Some even charge a few bucks to use the space. So, look for the nearest ones around you and make sure that they have enough space.
What should you not do with old and used tyres?
Here is what you should avoid doing with old tyres:
- Storing them in a volatile location will cause a massive fire.
- Piling them in one place due to environmental issues
- Illegally dumping an old tyre can lead to heavy penalties and even prison.
- Never burn them as they release toxic chemicals that are a threat to the environment.
Benefits of Recycling Tyres
Now that you know everything about Tyre recycling, look at its following benefits:
Creating new products
Creating useful products from tyres is an effective recycling method. Tyres are a great source of fuel and even better than coal. Moreover, you can make field turfs, soft surfaces for sports events, road products, etc.
DIY tyre projects are always an interesting way of utilizing damaged tyres. Make planters, swings, furniture, gym equipment, and many more with tyres, which is an efficient way to recycle them.
Refer to this link to know what you can do with old and used tyres.
Fewer tyres on Landfill Sites
Tyres are large and take a lot of place at landfill sites. Due to this, they cannot store other waste materials for recycling. Since tyres are non-biodegradable, keeping them at landfills can cause environmental damage such as air and water pollution, harm to animals, blocked drainage systems, etc.
That is why it is better to recycle them and not throw them into landfill sites. You can try selling them to garages or use them creatively. If you cannot do that, find a landfill with enough space for your tyres as you don’t want to pile them.
Helps to Prevent Diseases
If you store old and used tyres at home, you are welcoming harmful diseases your way. These tyres can attract rodents that carry dangerous diseases. Also, tyres can trap water in their interior that beckons mosquitos that can cause malaria. Even snakes can make a home inside the tyre.
Therefore, recycling these tyres is a better idea than keeping them around your home if you don’t want any diseases around.
Prevents Fires and Pollution
Pollution is another reason why you should not keep old tyres at home or pile them in landfills. As tyres are a source of fuel, igniting them is not a good idea as it will pollute the air and release harmful chemicals.
They produce toxic smoke while burning that is not good for inhaling and can damage your lungs. Apart from that, this smoke can also damage the soil, water, aquatic animals, and any agricultural land around.
So, by recycling tyres, you are not only saving yourself but nature too. Instead of storing them around your place, try every possible way to recycle them.
Summary
Tyre recycling means recycling old tyres for further production or use. By recycling tyres, you can create more space in landfills, prevent the spreading of diseases, and reduce air and water pollution.
After that, the process involves five main steps – collecting the waste, Shredding, liberating steel, screening, and producing the final product. Once the product is ready, you can sell it to manufacturers for further production.
The efficient ways of disposing of tyres are – selling them to a garage, donating them to parks, and Do-it-yourself projects. All three of them are great ways to recycle old tyres and getting benefits from them.
Storing tyres in volatile locations, burning or piling, and illegally dumping them are some actions you should avoid doing.
Recycling of tyres provides significant advantages to human beings as well as nature. The benefits include prevention from diseases, creation of new products, reduction in air pollution, and increase space at landfill sites.
With this article, you know the importance of tyre recycling for the environment. Try implementing the recycling ways and also tell your friends to do so. Not only tyres, recycle every kind of waste you can and reuse them to ensure that nature remains safe.
