WHAT KIND OF IMPACT DOES THE TIRE INDUSTRY HAVE ON THE WORLD TODAY?
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Tire recycling and upcycling helps mitigate the environmental impact of discarded tires.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
Tire recycling and upcycling industries create jobs and economic opportunities across the world.
COMMUNITY IMPACT
By reducing tire dumps & fires, you can improve the overall health and well being of communities.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Plays a crucial role in advancing the principles of circular economy by extending the lifecycle of resources.
ENVIRONMENTAL & PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM
Source of Microplastic waste
It’s not a well known fact but tire wear and tear is a source of even 28% all the microplastic waste in the world’s oceans according to a 2017 report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature
Health hazards
These stocks produce an enabling ambient for rodents, mosquitoes and other plagues, causing health and environmental problems. They also represent a fire danger and while burning, they release toxic chemicals.
Landfills & Stockpile
Current number of end-of-life tires to be found in landfills & stockpiles worldwide is as high as 4 billion
Disposal of wasted tires
Disposal of used tires and is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century waste management. The problem is growing with a rising population worldwide.
Slow decomposition
It takes app. 50-80 years for a tire to completely decompose in a landfill.
Total Annual Waste
The amount of waste tires discarded worldwide each year, according to various studies range from 800 million to 1.8 billion.
TIRE RECYCLING
Although Charles Goodyear's invented vulcanisation process in year 1839 and by then symbolically started today’s tire manufacturing industry, a tire as we know it today wasn’t known until 1911. A gentleman named Philip Strauss invented a pneumatic tire, which was a combination of vulcanised rubber tire and air filled inner tube. This gave birth to a great life quality improvement for millions of people worldwide……. and the beginning of a huge global problem!
SHORT HISTORY OF
Landfilling
In the early days of automobile tire production, used tires were often discarded in landfills. This approach was simple but environmentally unsustainable. It’s practiced until today although in various areas it’s strictly forbidden (eg. European Commission, Landfill of Waste Directive, 1999)
Tire Pyrolysis
c.a. 1940
Rubber shortages during WWII resulted in the development of pyrolysis. It’s a method of breaking down tires at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen. This process yields valuable products carbon black, fuel oil and steel. Recycling of scraped tires has begun.
Tire Shredding
Shredding tires into small pieces, commonly referred to as crumb rubber, became a popular solution. Recycling initiatives began to gain traction, leading to the development of various products made from recycled rubber. This approach gave used tires a very long second life while reducing waste.
Tire Derived Fuel
Old tires are a source of energy - even 100% more effective than wood. This method raises serious environmental concerns due to the release of pollutants, yet it’s remains the most popular way of treating used tires. TDF market is expecting to reach more than 500 million $ by 2031.
Devulcanisation
Already since Charles Goodyear vulcanisation, numerous scientists and researchers made attempts to reverse this process. Devulcanization continues to be a big hope for scrap tire recycling, making used rubber more pliable and suitable for reuse in new products.
This is how humankind has advanced in dealing with with the tire waste. Let’s get a sneak peak into some key developments.
