What can you do with recycled tires?

One of my readers asked me a few days ago about possible applications of recycled tires because he was evaluating a possible investment in a new recycling plant.

I will only be talking about the rubber applications, but if you recycle tires, you can also get some applications and customers for the significant amount of steel and textile fibres also recovered from them.

Obviously, the first application that those of us who work in the safety flooring business think of is the cushion layer of playgrounds, sports and leisure applications or the flooring tiles for gyms, shooting ranges, etc, or the rubber mulch floor for golf tracks, racetracks, horse estables, tree pits, etc.

Roof tiles from wasted tires. Picture of LA NACION

There are, however, many other application examples that I have been able to verify in recent publications on different media.

Stylish sandals from wated tires at Indosol: Better you see this amazing video. I could not improve the explanation with words about how these young entrepreneurs turned trash into treasures.

Roof Tiles: Using recycled tires and plastic, researchers from the Experimental Center for Affordable Housing (CEVE), belonging to Conicet and the Association for Affordable Housing, and the Center for Research, Development and Transfer of Materials (Cintemac) of the National Technological University (UTN), Faculty Regional Córdoba (Argentina), developed tiles made with rubber and recycled plastic. They are resistant, economical and reduce environmental pollution. They try now to transfer the technology to municipalities for the manufacture of social housing.

Another advantage of this roof tiles is that they are very resistant to hail, unlike a ceramic tile, which is easier to break. The production process is carried out by thermo-molding with compaction. First, the rubber and plastics are ground and mixed. Then, the molding is done in a press, at high temperature. The resulting material is then cooled and the edges are trimmed to shape the tiles.

Not recycling plant available?

If you cannot have a tire recycling facility near you or invest in one, these 43 original projects on the link from Borepanda or the 25 from Momtastic, (both links and pictures below), can help you to give the used tires a second life and have some inspiration for other applications such chairs, steps, dog bed, and garden decoration ideas.