What happens to tyres when they are recycled?

As a society we are becoming increasingly environmentally aware. O We like to know how many air miles our food has done, the carbon footprint of the various appliances we have at home and whether or not something is recyclable. Ever wondered what happens to the old tyres that are removed from your car?

In July 2007 it became a legal requirement to recycle all tyres. On leaving any tyres at your garage, you should be asked to contribute towards their safe disposal, usually between £1/£2. The garage will have a contract with a collection company, who after collecting up the tyres will pass onto a partner organisation whose responsibility it will be to process the unwanted items. They will make the decision to either re-use or recycle.

Of course, there is the option to take the tyres to your local recycling centre. Garages are not permitted to do this. They have to follow specific protocols as the tyres left there are considered commercial waste.

Re-using old tyres

If the tyres are deemed acceptable for reuse, they undergo a remoulding process. First, the tyres are buffed down – this is the term given to removal of the tread. A new tread is fixed on and the side walls are moulded back into place, ready to be sold back to the general public.

Recycling of old tyres

Tyres that are excessively damaged are broken down to be recycled. Where this is the case, the metal parts are separated and dealt with as per guidelines. The rubber crumb, a by product of the granulation process is then used in a whole manner of different ways. Here are some of its most popular uses:

• Playground surfaces based on recycled rubber granules are softer than concrete or tarmac. Recycled tyres can also be used to provide a base for athletics tracks, and a rubber base also makes for more realistic artificial grass.
• Carpet underlay made from tyre rubber can be guaranteed for up to 25 years! Particularly suitable in areas where there is a lot of traffic i.e. hallway, stairs
• Stationary that lasts. Everything from erasers, pencil cases, mouse mats to notebook covers, bookmarks and coasters.
• Mulching the garden. By using granulated tyres you can be rest assured that you will never have to replace the chippings in your garden.  Not only does the material prevent weed growth and deters pests but it also doesn’t suck the moisture from plants, keeping them well hydrated.

There is also the age old, tried and tested tyre recycling method of hanging it from a tree and having a swing!

Get cheaper tyres locally from TyreQuote.com

Are you looking for cheaper tyres fitted by the best tyres fitters in your area?

Where should you start looking? Well there’s many options.. Here’s just a few of them:

1. Yellow Pages / Telephone Directory

Yep, you could go old-school and dig out one of the big dusty books that you use to prop open the back door on windy days. Look up ‘Tyres’, then ring round a few of the numbers from the ads you like the look of. You may find a few of them out of business or the numbers aren’t working but after half an hour or so you might have a couple of quotes for the tyres you need. The fitters you speak to may or may not try and sell you a different tyre or additional services and it’s really down to you how well you negotiate the price.

2. Buy your tyres online

There are lots of good websites that will sell you tyres. You buy them online, they ship them to a fitter near you and you go there with your vehicle to have the tyres fitted. This is great and will probably save you some money, but it does cost money to ship bulky tyres around and pay a third party to do the fitting, so it might not be best deal you can find.

3. Visit one of the national tyre fitters

There are some good national tyre chains in the UK. You know the ones and they are available to fit your tyres in most towns and cities. There’s probably a couple within 5-miles of you and they all have excellent websites. However, you only know of them because of their expensive marketing, advertising and prime locations for which they pay plenty of rent. So again, this expense has to be covered somehow and could well impact the price you pay once you’ve got your new rubber.

4. Use a tyre price comparison site

This is where TyreQuote.com can help. We all love to use the other big price comparison sites. They’re all over the place these days – on TV, radio, in the press and they are very successful because they do exactly what we all need in this nasty recession, they save us time and money. We dont have to input our car insurance details in 20 different insurance websites, we do it once and get 20+ quotes back. Perfect. So we do it for tyres. You tell us the tyres you want and we ask all the great local independent tyre fitters near you to send us their best quotes. You can then select either the nearest fitter to you, the cheapest, the fitter rated highest for their customer service or a happy combination of all three. Whatever your preference, you are certainly going to save a lot of time, searching, hassle and perhaps most importantly money.

We really can help you get a better deal on your new tyres and we don’t charge you a penny, so please, give TyreQuote.com a try today!

Thanks for reading,

James