Where does your old tire go when it is time to, well, retire?
The backyard swing? The tire dump?
RECYCLING RUBBER TIRES
In the last 10 years or so, lots of innovative ways have been found to recycle old tires. Ground down into crumbs, they provide more bounce and cushion to synthetic playing fields, improve the impact absorption of running tracks and increase the durability of roadways. As chips and nuggets, old tires are used as ground cover for playgrounds and as mulch in gardens. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) describes, but does not endorse, how recycled tires are being used today on its website.
HEALTH CONCERNS
Your 5-year old at soccer. Your teenager at football practice. You working on a flower bed. Your family gathered around the swing set. These activities may bring you and your family into contact with recycled tires. Because the original purpose of a tire is to cushion the wheel of a vehicle, a tire is manufactured to be tough, flexible, and durable. Tires are typically made of rubber, steel wire, nylon and polyester fibers and complex chemical compounds and not designed for safe (healthy) close contact with living things. Neither are they good for the environment.
A study commissioned in 2007 by Environment and Human Health, Inc. (EHHI), a non-profit organization in Connecticut reviewed previous testing done on recycled rubber tires and did its own check of whether or not harmful substances are released by the tires. The EHHI recommended against the use of recycled rubber for any sport, recreational or landscaping uses and called for further testing.
Up until the EHHI research, most of the health and safety studies focused on:
1. whether rubber surfaces reduce injuries or
2. whether there are any chemicals released and identifying what they are.
The conclusions were that on properly-installed rubber playing surfaces there are fewer injuries overall and injuries are less severe in general, and that recycled rubber tires release harmful substances but in amounts that are an acceptable health risk, or no risk, based on current federal and state health and safety standards.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) states on its website, "crumb rubber material used in synthetic turf fields poses no significant environmental threat to air or water quality and poses no significant health concerns".
The California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) contracted the State Office of Health Hazard Assessment (OHHA) to "evaluate the health effects of recycled waste tires in playground and track products" in January 2007. It was found that the tire rubber released enough of the harmful chemicals to affect animals and plants in the immediate area, but in general, the cancer risk especially to children and the impact on the water table was within acceptable levels. It was also determined that improperly installed playground surfaces could fail to prevent major fall injuries.
Recommendations made by agencies like the NYSDEC and the CIWMB guide the choices made by private individuals, sports groups, communities, local governments and even manufacturers of products made from recycled rubber. There are advantages to using these products. Outdoor playing fields made out of synthetic turf cushioned by rubber crumbs are low maintenance and all-weather surfaces. Rubber chips provide impact protection to children at play on swing sets and jungle gyms. Rubber mulch does not rot or degrade on flower beds. However, there is increasing anecdotal evidence that the artificial surface is not as inert as first thought, and there are other considerations beyond increased number of playing days, cost-savings, or longevity. Concerns by parents and coaches are making state and federal agencies consider further action.
See Part II of Recycled Rubber Tires: Making Your Own Decision.
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These dumped tires are then burned or buried or re-dumped by the farmers, etc. who justifiably resent having to dispose of someone else's tires.