Tyre Re-use Reaches New High in US

The reuse of scrap tyres is steadily increasing in the US according to figures released by the Rubber Manufacturers Association. A report released by the RMA indicated that almost eighty seven per cent of tyres disposed of each year are given a new use, compared to eleven per cent in 1990.

This high proportion of re-use means that tyre stockpiles are dwindling. Sixteen years ago the US faced the environmental problem of having more than a billion stockpiled scrap tyres on it hands, however today this figure is now down to 188 million, an eighty per cent drop.

How to deal with unwanted tyres is a long established predicament and legislation is increasingly holding tyre manufacturers responsible for disposal solutions. Since the 1990s US tyre manufacturers have been actively working to promote environmentally sound methods of minimising scrap tyre waste.

The RMA reports that today the most common uses for scrap tyres are as ground rubber for creating soft ground surfaces such as athletic tracks and carpet underlays, in civil engineering projects involving drainage and sound control, and as tyre derived fuels. sg