Tyres - 100% Reused, Recycled And Repurposed

In the UK, an average of 100,000 tyres will be replaced every day. As it is illegal for tyres to be put in landfill sites, the problem is where do they go? Half a million tonnes of used car tyres have to be disposed of every year. Some will be remoulded, some will be ground down into crumbs for a variety of uses, and some will be recycled into new objects.

When you have new tyres fitted, you may have noticed a small environmental charge added to your bill. This is the cost of having your old tyres taken away and disposed of properly. The environment agency has a register of all the companies that dispose of tyres, and it is a highly regulated industry. Tyres are currently the only product in the UK that legally must be completely reused or recycled - none are allowed to go into landfill. A quarter of old tyres are reused as tyres, while another 50% are recycled. The remainder are repurposed.

Some of the larger 4x4, van or lorry tyres are remoulded into new tyres. This is one way you can buy cheap tyres; the tyre is stripped back and re-made with new tread. Many lorries and some vans use remoulded tyres.

Most old tyres are recycled. This is achieved by grinding them down into crumbs which can be used for sports surfaces such as athletic tracks and playground surfaces, and other safety flooring, or even as underlay for carpets. They can be pressed into blocks to resurface level crossings or even roads. You can even use the granules to mulch the garden in place of bark chips so you never have to change them again!

Other tyres are repurposed. Filled with soil they can be used as an instant planter either on their own or stacked as high as you want. Layers can be added or removed as necessary, making them perfect for vegetables such as potatoes that continually need earthing, or forced rhubarb. Alternatively, they can be packed really tightly with soil and used for building walls. Deep under the sea all around the world, there are artificial reefs built out of old tyres.

Parts of the tyre can be used to make a wide variety of items - the soles of shoes, pencil cases, notebook covers, trugs, or even kneeling pads for the garden.

And finally, old car tyres can bring hours of enjoyment to small children. They can be made into tyre swings with the addition of some rope or chain, and huge lorry or tractor tyres can make fabulous sandpits! Just make sure to clean the tyres thoroughly as otherwise the children will be getting even grubbier with black marks from the tyres.

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