Recycle Old Tires: Eco-friendly Recycling Project Ideas
It doesn’t matter if you take exceptional care of your car’s tires by rotating them, keeping them properly inflated and the front end properly aligned – tires eventually run out of life (i.e. treading). In order to keep yourself safe on the roads you need to change your tires when the tread-wear indicators on them tell you so or when you have an irreparable flat.
So what do you do with your old, bald tires? Burning them sure isn’t the answer since the rubber contains toxic particles that will pollute the air and harm the environment. Tires also take up lots of space in landfills due to their circular shape and the methane gases that will develop and cause the tires to rise up to the surface.
Instead, there are many ways for you to recycle old tires in an eco-friendly way into something you or other people can actually use. Here are some ideas for fun recycling projects:
One way for the handyman to recycle old tires is to build an eco-friendly deck for your house. When mixed with polyethylene, shredded tires can be made into boards that are capable of withstanding extremely hot and cold temperatures. The boards also prevent insect damage better than regular wood and require minimal maintenance. The lifespan of a rubber deck is about 25 years and by that time you probably have more used tires you would like to get rid of.
If you feel like building a deck is too large of a task to take on or if you only have a few tires to scrap, there are many other recycling project ideas to choose from. A garden or a backyard will provide you with endless opportunities for eco-friendly recycling. Your children will love having their own tire swing, rocker, or seesaw to play on, and your flowers will grow lush and pretty in decorated tire pots.
Do you ride your bicycle a lot? Since you are already helping out the environment, make a great bicycle stand out of tires! Dig a hole about half the depth of the tires and place them close together before filling the hole back up. The rubber won’t scratch or bend your bike’s spokes and you can easily modify the stand to fit more bikes.
Some of the most popular items to make out of old tires are buckets or baskets. They are great for storing wood, magazines, fruit, and garden equipment. Tire buckets also make excellent ice containers for beverages at parties or dinners (and they are quite the conversation topic).
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