Tyres

Each year in Australia, the equivalent of 48 million tyres reach the end of their life, only 16% of these are domestically recycled. Around two thirds of used tyres in Australia end up in landfill, are stockpiled, illegally dumped or have an unknown fate.

When disposing of tyres please check with your local council, most will have a small tipping fee which covers the handling and processing of the tyres. This is preferable to placing them in landfill where they leech chemicals and are a major fire hazard creating significant health and environmental issues.

Each passenger car tyre contains approximately 1.5kg of steel, 0.5kg of textiles and 7 kg of rubber.

End-of-life tyres and tyre derived products can be put to productive use in many ways which include:

• • the manufacture of new rubber products such as soft fall surfaces, artificial turf and conveyer belts
  • road construction and surfacing
  • alternative fuel source for producers of energy and cement
  • brake pads and other rubber products