Innovative ways to recycle tyres in Brisbane and save the environment
When a tyre is no longer roadworthy, disposing of it can be a problem. There are very few eco-friendly ways of getting rid of old tyres, and yet there are several ways in which old tyres can be used in an eco-friendly way. Only 16% of the 48 million tyres discarded in Australia every year are recycled. The rest is used in a landfill or stored in dangerous and often illegal tyre dumps (like the tyre dump discovered in North Queensland). Eventually, they pollute our soil, rivers, and water supply, or catch fire and pollute the air we breathe.
In this article, you’ll learn how we can all be greener when it comes to old tyres in Brisbane.
Tyres are a valuable resource – we shouldn’t waste them
Though it isn’t fit for use as a tyre any longer, an old tyre is still a valuable resource. Each discarded tyre contains around:
- 5kg of steel
- 5kg of textiles
- 7kg of rubber
It means that here in Australia alone, every year we are throwing away around:
- 60 million kg of steel
- 20 million kg of textiles
- 280 million kg of rubber
Stockpiles of old tyres are a health hazard, creating breeding grounds for rats and mosquitoes. Landfill sites get clogged up with old tyres – imagine as many as 40 million tyres buried underground every year here in Australia.
It is a colossal waste of what could still be a useful resource.
How can old tyres be recycled?
The 40 million or so old tyres we waste every year could be put to some really good, environmentally-friendly uses. For example, old tyres can be turned into:
Rubber roads. If this sounds outlandish, in the United States they have been using rubber roads since the 1960s. There are now around 20,000 miles of such roads in America. They are quieter to drive on, which is another benefit when you consider that the World Health Organisation reckons that one in every 50 heart attacks in Europe is caused by exposure to loud traffic.
Energy. Old tyres can be used by power stations. Tyres are first shredded and then burned to help create electricity. They can also be burned in cement-making kilns, reducing the amount of carbon fuel needed.
Can you use your old tyres for other things?
Yes, you can! How about creating a centrepiece of tyre planters in your garden? Or perhaps setting them up as a mini assault course for the kids – swings, step-throughs, crawl-throughs, and so on? Here are a few other ingenious uses for old tyres that I’ve heard of:
- Dog bed
- Tyre lamps
- Planters
- Tyre tables
- Tyre speakers or subwoofers
- Half-tyre hammocks (for the kids)
- Garden steps
- Sandboxes
- Umbrella stand
We’ve teamed up with Sarah Textor of Clive Street to discard of old tyres more intelligently. She creates the most amazing fashion accessories from inner tube tyres, and we’re happy and proud to help Sarah and Brisbane’s environment simultaneously.
What else can you do to reduce wastage from old tyres?
There are a few other things you can do to help reduce tyre waste, and every little helps. For example:
- Buy good quality tyres that last longer.
- Take care of your tyres to prolong their useful life – employ a regular tyre maintenance program.
- Consider buying retreads to support the recycling of tyres.
If we all added just 10% to tyre life, we’d annually cut more than 4 million old tyres from Australia’s old tyre mountain.
For tips on how to recycle your old tyres and the best tyre service in West Brisbane, contact Darra Tyres today. You never know, you might also find that fashionable handbag you’ve been searching for.
Keeping your family and fleet safely on the road,
Kevih Wood