Where does all the rubber go?

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   The Bardposted 8 years ago

   Lets face it, we have to change tyres on our vehicles because they wear away. But where does the rubber go? It doesn't just disappear.
   
   It's estimated that half a billion tons of rubber is lost into the environment from tyres on the road every year. The composition of which holds some very unfriendly chemicals. Never mind about the mountains of redundant tyres globally.
   Did the environmental evangelist and ex vice president Al Gore mention this from his fire and brimstone soapbox?
   
   I doubt it! After all, you can only lecture so many people so many times, but attacking millions of drivers may have been a negative move.
   
   There was a Tory minister once who said all eggs were infected with salmonella. It was a fowl statement and almost ruined the British Poultry industry. Boy did she get a tongue lashing from Maggie Thatcher.
   
   Lucky for Al he wasn't part of her coop then! Having said that, she sorted out the chickens from the turkeys.

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      thranaxposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Oh...your talking about tires.
      
      ~thranax~

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      1. 81

         The Bardposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         No. I'm talking about tyres: (Engineering/Automotive Engineering) a rubber ring placed over the rim of a wheel of a road vehicle to provide traction and reduce road shocks, especially a hollow inflated ring (pneumatic tyre) consisting of a reinforced outer casing enclosing an inner tube.
         
         Although I must say that giving this explanation tires me.

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            thranaxposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            I meant I was thinking of a different kind of rubber.
            
            ~thranax~
            
            P.S. Im from the US.
            
            Tires, or tyres (in American and British English, respectively), are ring-shaped parts, either pneumatic or solid (including rubber, metals and
            -Wikipedia

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2. 88

   camloposted 8 years ago

   'Tire' is the US American of 'tyre'.
   
   So, where does all the rubber go?

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      The Bardposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Of course it is. But there are people here who are not American you know!
      
      Sidewalk = pavement
      elevator = lift
      hood = bonnet
      faucet = tap
      
      I could go on, and this stuff should have a separate topic, so lets get back to the point if possible...and elevate (lift) it to an intelligent plain.
      
      I've noticed in my time here that threads develop like Chinese whispers, taking on minds of their own and shooting off on tangents.

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3. 86

   rebekahELLEposted 8 years ago

   to get back to your question, which is a good one, the rubber particles become like air dust, airborne particles. or we would see piles of rubber along the roads!

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      camloposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      The piles of rubber would be inconvenient. Are the particles dangerous?

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         rebekahELLEposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         I would imagine it becomes part of our affliction with asthma, air borne respiratory problems, polluted air. I guess it's like road dust, one really good reason not to live too close to major roads.

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            camloposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            Oh -- I live right on a federal road here in the middle of Cologne. But how do they actually dispose of the tyres?

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4. 60

   Rayalternatelyposted 8 years ago

   don't the rubber fairies come and take it away, like the plastic bag fairies do?

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      The Bardposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Contrary to popular belief, the Plastic Bag Fairies do not take plastic bags away. Not unless you are living in "Plastic Fairy Land".
      
      Plastic bags live forever, and when they are not having a jolly good time wafting around the streets, or attempting to bio-degrade in some landfill, you will find mile upon mile of them clogging up the sea, beaches and reefs, and they are particularly attracted to supermarket trolleys. Which really peeves of the Trolley Fairy, and that's why their wheels never work!
      
      Unfortunately the Plastic Bag Fairy is a rather poor one, and was thrown out of Fairyland for that very reason. Having attempted to form a relationship with the Elusive Rubber Fairy, the union failed. The Fairy King, aware that it was not a suitable match, subsequently despatched them both to Hubpages where by all accounts they have a great following.

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         Rayalternatelyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Thought that might provoke a response. Eloquently put sir. Now, dare I make a suggestion about the Wombles?
         
         Anyway, enough frivolity from me. It's a serious point you raise and I'm not trying to trivialise it, as I agree, it's well worth discussion.

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5. 54

   sooner than laterposted 8 years ago

   good topic. I would like to know more.

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6. 43

   thranaxposted 8 years ago

   Well, here in the US some tires are used to fix potholes. I don't know exactly how but they mix the rubber in with the tar or something like that.
   
   ~thranax~

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7. 0

   sneakorocksolidposted 8 years ago

   Most is collected by makers of black market condomes, they manage a weak 63% effectiveness rating. I don't know?

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8. 55

   The Ropeposted 8 years ago

   Last I knew, our area was trucking them to a tire recycling factory about 8 hours away.  They were then shredded and used for all types of sources.  Unfortunately the truck trip alone cost $10k per trip and the govt dollars that were being handed out to start up recycling programs in each county were being used to fund these trips.  I actually suggested that three counties get together and use the dollars to build a factory together and was shot down - no one wanted to "share" their dollars with another county.  What a waste!

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      camloposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Ah, there's my answer ... Should read before I write

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