Recycling car tires - how to legally dispose of used tires?

The ecological consciousness of the Poles is constantly growing. This can be seen in the approach to sorting waste, refusing to burn grass or reducing the amount of garbage in forests. Public tire recycling also helps keep the environment clean. But how are old car tires disposed of? What is it made of?

Worn tires and their dismantling time

The good news is that more drivers want to know how to safely dispose of old tires. Used tires thrown into the forest or on fields and meadows take more than 100 years to decompose! Individual ingredients are not neutralized by nature just like that. We are talking about materials such as:

• tire;
• oil;
• resins;
• sad;
• silica;
• antioxidants. 

Therefore, it is much better, and what is more, legal, to give them to a place where tire recycling is possible. Thus, it is possible to obtain from them not only alternative fuel, which is the most popular way of recycling tires in our country, but also the production of pellets.

What does tire recycling look like in our country?

It is worth starting with positive information - more and more tires are being recycled in our country. In recent years, their number has begun to exceed 90 tons per year. Tire recycling and the growing interest in extracting the necessary raw materials from them is not only good for the environment. They also provide savings in the production of new tires or rubber products. 

And what are the less instructive facts about such processing? Poland still lags far behind the countries most oriented towards tire recycling. In addition, they are not used to produce new road sections. And most importantly, many people burn tires.

Buying tires and their further life

In the country on the Vistula River, the most popular solution is to use tires as an alternative fuel. Where are they useful? Fortunately, these are not private heating stoves in houses, but, for example, cement plants. That's where tires go, replacing carbon. 

Proponents of this solution claim that this reduces environmental pollution caused by burning fuel at production sites by up to 30%. However, the purchase of tires is interested not only in the sale of these products on industrial sites. They make other things.

What can be done with used tires?

What does tire recycling and component reuse offer? It is very popular to grind them into granules for the production of rubber materials. From it arise, for example:

• Car carpets;
• rubber wheels for containers;
• seals;
• wipers;
• shoe soles.

What else can be done with used tires? They are subjected to pyrolysis, i. dry distillation. This process involves exposing used tires to high temperatures without the use of oxygen. This restores:

• carbon black - after further processing;
• gas;
• oil.

Another important process with used tires is retreading. This involves removing the old and applying the new tread to the tire carcass.

Where to take used tires - several options

There are several places where tires that are excluded from further use go. It's all about:

• buying used tires;
• PSZOK - point of selective collection of municipal waste;
• vulcanization installations;
• local waste collection campaigns.

By taking advantage of these opportunities, tire recycling is possible and very easy.

Where to throw tires and is it worth it?

In the Polish landscape, there is a marked increase in interest in tires as elements of spatial development. Indeed, for some, the disposal of tires is rather unnecessary, because they can be used as decoration. Although this is a rather peculiar method, it should not be judged solely on taste. After all, tastes do not argue. 

These old tires can be painted, cut and shaped to give them original qualities. So you don't have to puzzle over where to throw the tires off the rims.

Where to donate old tires quickly and efficiently?

However, if you are not interested in the fashion to decorate your property with tires, you will definitely find a place where you can turn in old tires. In our country, there are more than 250 vending machines ready to receive car tires. Therefore, not everyone has access to them. 

If there is no collection of used tires in your area, your best bet is to head to the OSS. There, however, there is a limit of 4 tires per person per year. Therefore, it is unlikely that you will give away large amounts. Probably the most affordable and fastest way to get rid of old tires will be vulcanizing machines.

Tire recycling and the direction chosen by the manufacturers

Although this is not an article about climate issues, it is worth mentioning that they affect tire recycling. More and more global brands are trying not only to reuse the materials of old tires for the production of new ones. It also replaces toxic and harmful raw materials with more environmentally friendly ones. Some pay more attention to retreading, others to a revolutionary change in the tire design itself.

Remember - always return used tires to the designated places. Don't throw them away, don't burn them. In this way, you will contribute to improving the quality of air, soil and water on your plot of land. Isn't that the best motivation?