Carl Vaughan contacted us with these new suggestions.
Tyre disposal is obviously a major issue in New Zealand and throughout the world. Around 6 million tyres come into New Zealand each year. They can’t be buried, as they rise back out of the ground, and they can’t be burned. A lot of tyres are shipped to Vietnam for recycling but this may not be a forever option just like plastic in China. Recycling has to be cost effective and simple.
Carl Vaughan from Goodyear Autocare Timaru has suggested several options that he believes can work-with the right support. A lot of that support can come from the farming community.
Carl has seen tyres converted into silage sides-an idea he spotted on a YouTube video filmed in the States. Unlike ordinary tyres, which fill up with water and act as a breeding ground for mosquitoes, sides don’t contain water, don’t have any exposed wire, are easy to store, transport and throw around. It takes about a minute to cut a tyre with about $150 worth of jigsaw and a special blade. Goodyear Autocare Timaru are supplying the blades for free to anyone in the region.
Then there is the remaining portion of the tyre, which is effectively a round band. They are being used again in the States as ‘mechanical concrete’, a grid system that stops the ground shifting under the weight of trucks and cars. The tyres are screwed together in a grid and filled with small river rock. The rock can’t push sideways so the road above can’t sink. The system is simple and cost effective, and self sustaining in each region.
Goodyear Autocare Timaru has free tyres for collection. There are plenty of YouTube videos to explain this system very well. Carl also came up with a 3rd option which requires one more process. The tyre band is cut with a jigsaw to turn it into a flat belt. The perfect protection to cover buried services. Hook a tyre with a digger and you will drag it out but not cut through it. A great way to keep you safe and save potentially big money!
