What happens to used tyres?

[anandpadhye]

Friends,

I recently changed all my 5 tyres (they had completed 42000KM).

When i asked the tyre guy what to do with the old ones, he said take them along as he had no use of them. When I asked him what I will do with them and I have to dispose them off anyway, he offered that I could just leave them at his place and go.

Curiously, I asked him what becomes of these tyres in the end and I got different answers (collected from various tyrewallas, one after the other...):

1. Some rubber scrap guy will come and take them away. What he does with them later on, no idea.
2. Tyre retreaders will buy them and retread (though one tyre shopkeeper told me that's only true for tube type not for tubeless).
3. My brother who works in a tractor company told me the rubber scrap guys eventually just burn the tyres to extract the steal out of it.
4. I searched the tyre company websites but no mention of recycling/reclaiming facilities or designated dump grounds.
5. Another friend told me nothing environment friendly is possible of rubber once it's vucunized (and tyres are vulcunized rubber).


Do are the used tyres a BIG BIG BIG environmental hazard?
Another "not much talked about" waste and harm caused by the automobile industry?

I am very sad on knowing this and need some info, suggestions, views to clean my conscience.

Till then I am hating myself for being an automobile lover...
As they say, conscience does not prevent sin. It only prevents you from enjoying it...

Please respond.

[iamkapilb]

One use of used tyres is to make those tyre walls along the racing track

I think the shiny road surface we see nowadays has used tyre rubber in them.

[nitrous]

What happens to used race tyres??
We use them for the track days!

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Hmmm...

Nice thread. To be frank, never thought this way. I guess some member can answers for all of us.

[wolfinstein]

Let's Mail Respective companies and Ask...! Bridgestone India/ JK Tyre / Apollo / MRF- I'm sure they may respond with some feedback.

[xinome]

this thread has got me thinking, oh i have sinned!

seriously what does happen to these tyres!
over here in tvm people burn tyres everyday near the NH
guys here must have noticed it and the foul smell!

when i asked why they where doing it, they told me "they burn it to kill mosquitoes" i was like what the

and i replied you are killing yourself not the mosquitoe
i left for home wondering why seriosuly why?

please do let us know what happens to these tyres
do they launch it of to space

[theMAG]

Typically they should be recycled. But thats where such facilities exist. Else, like in majority of countries with flexi rules and apathy, they're either chucked in the nearest gutter or as you said used for burning in various applications such as during an unrest etc

[esteem_lover]

My brother changed his wagonr tyres recently. These tyres were 5 years old & the dealer just refused to take possession of the old tyres. He politely declined to take it even if we were to pay him for it. The dealer is quite known to me, i guess it is tough to dispose old rubber.

[nitrous]

Donate the tyres to race-tracks for making tyrewalls!

[xinome]

Originally Posted by nitrous

Donate the tyres to race-tracks for making tyrewalls!

after that, then what!

never thought of this good one!

[esteem_lover]

costs a lot of money to donate, my brother just found a neat isolated spot to dump them.

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by xinome

never thought of this good one!

Yes. But unfortunately, the Indian tracks : Disposed tyres ratio is small enough that its actually funny

[rr_zen]

This article reminds me of my friend who changed all tryes of his M800 and without a second thought hung the used tyres from the compound wall so that they save the car from major damage in an unlikely event of the car banging the wall while it was being parked. And, he always parked the car in a reverse fashion and the used tyres seem to do their new job pretty well now.

That being said, when I changed the tyres for my Honda Civic in the US a few months back, I was charged an extra $12 @ $3 per tyre towards “Tire Disposal Fee”.

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by rr_zen

That being said, when I changed the tyres for my Honda Civic in the US a few months back, I was charged an extra $12 @ $3 per tyre towards “Tire Disposal Fee”.

that's because govt. and people are sensible enough to follow it. you even get charged for disposal of used oil, coolant etc. why do you think they send scrapped ships to ship(scrap)yards in gujarat?

someday we will have disposal facilities and people willing to pay for them, everywhere. amen.

[rr_zen]

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

that's because govt. and people are sensible enough to follow it. you even get charged for disposal of used oil, coolant etc. why do you think they send scrapped ships to ship(scrap)yards in gujarat?

someday we will have disposal facilities and people willing to pay for them, everywhere. amen.

The reason for my statement above is to highlight the good thing associated with disposing off a tyre thereby not posing a threat to the environment. In India, we still have a long way to go on that one. You and I can consider ourselves lucky if we were alive to witness that 'someday' you mentioned.