Printer Refurb

Sustainability: Where have all my tires gone?

Have you ever wondered where used and discarded tires go? What happens to them? Do they simply disappear?

The topic isn't one I've previously given much thought. That was, until it came to researching this article. As I don't drive, it isn't something I had to worry about before now, and I can't say that really bothers me - although perhaps it should?

So, I got to thinking, when was the last time I saw an old tire in action? Had I even seen one being used for anything? Or did they just end up in one big pile at the back of a garage?

It was a tough one. Then it hit me. DAD! Yes, when I was young my dad decided to make swings using his old tires (and yep, I was the envy of all my friends!).

Tire recycling, it turns out, is big business and there are hundreds of companies who are involved in various aspects of it. From flooring, tire recycling, shoes, road paving, and tire derived fuel, there are several innovative ways that our tires are saved from rolling into a local landfill.

Just how big is this business? Well, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), there are at least 110 new products that contain recyclable tire rubber and there are some 12 million scrap tires per year used in highways.

Hopefully, that gives you some perspective. "Historically, scrap tires took up space in landfills or provided breeding grounds for mosquitoes and rodents when stockpiled or illegally dumped," the USEPA website reads. "Fortunately, markets now exist for 80.4 percent of these scrap tires - up from 17 percent in 1990.

"These markets - both recycling and beneficial use - continue to grow. The remaining scrap tires are still stockpiled or landfilled, however," it adds. Who'd have thought hey?

Anyway, enough rambling, this got me thinking about other ‘everyday' items whose disposal I knew nothing about, and I began to ponder what happened to them when they were no longer needed.

I know what you're thinking, ‘What did I choose next?'- plastic containers, bottles or aerosols? The answer is computers. And what a great pick. I mean, we couldn't, in all honesty, survive in this age without one, but how many of you know what happens to the ones we don't need anymore?

After a bit of digging, I discovered that simply throwing my last one away probably wasn't the best idea I ever had. Why's that? Well, what many of us don't realize is that our electronics and other household electrical gadgets are filled with heavy metals and toxic chemicals.

And, with high technology turnover rates, this got me worried. After all, most of us have had at least two new computers, three phones and a couple of new TVs in the last three years.

The technical term for high-tech garbage is e-waste. It refers to products like TVs and computers (including the keyboard, monitor, printer and other accessories).

So, I hear you ask, ‘where do these electronic relics (or e-waste) go when we have no need for them?' Well (thanks again to our friends at USEPA for this stat), landfill, unfortunately.

"In 1998, the National Safety Council Study estimated about 20 million computers became obsolete in one year. Fast forward to 2007, that number has more than doubled," says USEPA, attempting to explain the situation.

This is a disaster! Remember, these products contain some pretty serious chemicals, chemicals that when not handled properly can cause serious harm. Take mercury for instance. It is potentially deadly but used in a number of electronic items, like a reed switch for example.

Now, you've probably never heard of a reed switch, but it is a small circuit control that is used in many electronic devices. And their electronic contacts are wetted with mercury.

‘I can't just throw it in the trash, but what can I do with them then?' you ask. The majority of e-waste ends up being recycled for use in developing nations (including China, India, Pakistan, Ghana, Nigeria and Ivory Coast) and there are plenty of e-waste recycling centers/companies around, especially for cell phones.

On top of that, most manufacturers are improving their products so they contain fewer toxins to begin with (thanks to government pressure in most cases), while also
doing refurbs.

So, we're reaching the end of this article, and if you take just one thing from this short piece, let it be this - the next time you trade in your old tires or think of upgrading that computer, think carefully about what you do with them; there is still a lot of life left in them!

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