The growing number of scrap commercial and standard tires is growing each year. Whether it is tires for owner-operator tractor-trailers or family cars, the Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology has reported that over 280 million tires are discarded annually.
How Recycled Tires Can Help Owner-Operators
An estimated 30 million of these tires can be reused by retreading, leaving over 250 million left for scrap. The number of scrap tires is rising, with recycling programs having trouble keeping up and more tires being sent to landfills instead of being recycled. One reason for the growing number of scrap tires is rubber-modified asphalt (RMA) which is ground scrap tires mixed with asphalt. This process is being used in several states and countries. Using RMA can potentially cut the costs of projects using standard asphalt by up to 40%, and the benefits are growing. RMA can cut down wear and tear on tires themselves, allowing owner-operators and families to reduce how often they buy tires. It also has the potential to lower the cost of maintaining highways – Alabama is one state that has already seen the benefit of reduced maintenance costs. If RMA was used more, it has the potential to use scrap tires and eliminate the need to send more tires to the landfill.
Challenges Owner-Operators Face
Owner-Operators face several challenges when managing commercial tires. From balancing costs and tire quality, monitoring wear and tear and tire pressure to facing unexpected tire failures. However, if owner-operators opted for recycled commercial tires, they could address these issues while still being able to incorporate maintainable practices.
Uses of Recycled Tires
In the past, many scrap tires were ground down and used as Tire Derived Fuel (TDF). This is primarily used as an industrial fuel, often replacing typical fuel sources such as wood or coal. In some cases, TDF has been shown to burn hotter than coal and contain less heavy metal content, resulting in environmental benefits. Other uses of recycled tires can include mulch, artificial turf backing, and new whole tires for playgrounds.
Recycling commercial and standard tires tends to be a more effective way to stop growing tire waste. Recycling old tires into more valuable resources such as recycled rubber or asphalt reduces environmental issues and helps encourage and create economic opportunities. It is important to continue the research in recycling tires and help implement these actions that help support waste management. With these efforts, we can help pave the way for a better future where tires are not troublesome to the environment but contribute to a better economy.