The article, which featured an interview with Tyre Recovery Association secretary Peter Taylor, used DTI figures for setting the ELT scene – “48 million tyres, weighing 480,000 tons, were scrapped in 2004.” The Independent article reported that “around a quarter of old tyres are reused, and around half are recycled in some way.”
Interestingly, the article also included unsourced retreading market ratios. “While 40% of truck tyres are retreaded, only 2% or3% of car tyres live on as tyres, down from 20% a few years ago. It seems consumers just aren’t keen on second-hand tyres,” Independent journalist Hester Lacey reported.
The article concluded by suggesting “10 uses for a dead tyre.” These were: As a building material; to make level crossings and roads; to make stationery; to make shoes; to make sports surfaces and playgrounds; to make carpet underlay; for mulching the garden; for holding back the sea or providing homes for fish; as cement kiln fuel; and finally to hang from a tree and swing around in!
“Low-tech, classic and fun: All that’s needed is a sturdy branch and a strong rope,” the article jested.
