The Importance of Recycling
Recycling is important, now more than ever. If we want to leave a healthy planet for the future generations instead of a dystopia, then we need to be more concerned about our impact on it. One of the biggest ways humans harm is the planet is by dumping waste. You may have seen pictures of plastic floating around like jetsam in certain parts of the pacific or creatures being injured by discarded sharp objects. That’s just a small part of the much bigger picture.
Why is waste so harmful? Here are a few reasons:
- A lot of waste products in landfill sites emit harmful greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. A reduction in waste therefore reduces our carbon footprint.
- When products aren’t re-used, we have to keep making them again and again, using up more raw materials. Among other things, this means more deforestation which in turn results in the loss of habitats and more contribution towards global warming.
- We’re running out of space to make landfill sites. Some nations may increase dumping in the oceans because of this.
- Making products from scratch costs way more money than making them using recycled material.
Recycling Tyres
Tyres are something that’s not recycled as often as it should be. Most people have no idea that commercial and industrial tyre recycling is very useful across a number of sectors, as they can be converted into many things (more than a 100 to be precise!). This article will detail a few:
Ground Rubber
Ground rubber is exactly what its name implies. Over the years it has seen many uses including being used for landscaping activities and to the construction of athletic turfs. Currently, it’s also being heavily used in children’s play areas as they’re ideal materials for breaking falls.
Tire-derived Fuel
While this fuel doesn’t yet make its way into vehicles, it’s increasingly being used to power places like kilns. Tire-derived fuel is quite popular because their energy output is quite similar to oil. It is also highly preferable to coal due to the higher efficiency and much lower emissions.
Rubberized Asphalt
Rubberized asphalt is increasingly used in the construction of highways and to strengthen roads which are old and weak. Studies have shown that the use of rubberized asphalt also cuts down on construction costs significantly. In addition, rubberized asphalt gives roads a much smoother surface, making for a much better driving experience.
Filters
Because of the fact that tyre chips can further be cut down into any size, they are used as filters to treat waste water. In fact, it has been found that shredded tyre pieces are better at filtering than the organic material that are commonly used.
An Alternative to Gravel
Tyre chips could potentially replace the use of gravel in a number of scenarios including:
- Highway embankment backfill
- Dampening vibrations of rail tracks that are located near homes and businesses.
- Reduction of frost invasion under roads during winter
These five examples are only some of the ways in which recycled tyres can be put to good use. So if you’ve got a few old tyres lying around in your backyard, do the world a favour and recycle them.