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.