Drive to recycle car parts
Cars are the biggest contributor to our carbon footprint, making up 26% of our personal CO2 emissions. While the number of people driving cars is not going to reduce any time soon, there are things you can do to help minimise the impact driving has on the environment. Like disposing of car batteries and tyres correctly.
The recycling rate of car batteries is estimated to be higher than 90%
They’re classed as hazardous waste, so you can’t just dump them anywhere. You need to take them to a dedicated waste and recycling centre (ask your local council for details).
Many car battery retailers also offer a recycling service. They might even offer you a discount on a new battery when you take in your old one!
More than 100,000 used tyres are removed from UK vehicles each day
Every year 450,000 tonnes of used tyres are recycled or otherwise disposed of. That’s enough to stretch in line from London to Sydney.
The approach of reducing, reusing and recycling is the best way to lessen the impact of hazardous waste on our environment. Checking your car’s tyres weekly for damage, air pressure and tread helps extend their lifespan and saves you cash on replacements.
A popular option for recycling tyres is retreading. This process replaces the worn tread of used tyres. It works especially well for thicker airplane and truck tyres which can be retreaded several times.
Can you tell what it is yet?
Tyres can be ground into a material called crumb. This is then used to make a wide range of products, from carpet underlay to street furniture.
The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham has over 600 bollards for traffic calming, made from 100% recycled tyres. The larger bollards weigh about 36kg, and are made from around five recycled tyres, and smaller bollards about 25kg and just over three tyres.
In the United States, and locally in Fife, Scotland, and on the South Downs outside Brighton, tyres have been used to build houses. Called Earthships, they’re built using around 2,000 tyres which are rammed full of earth, then stacked like bricks to form walls. The walls are then rendered with adobe, plaster or cement.
Key facts
- Each retreaded tyre for an average car saves 4.5 gallons in oil compared to manufacturing a new one
- Every year, it is estimated that £2.3 million is spent investigating and clearing illegally dumped tyres
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and London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic
Games Ltd (LOCOG) do not endorse any of the products, companies,
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article. The content of this article has merely been provided as
background to, or discussion on, various topical issues relating to the
environment and it is not necessarily representative of the views of
Team Green Britain and LOCOG. Further, any figures and calculations
noted in this article are estimates (unless otherwise specified), and
may vary in light of numerous factors and readers are advised to
undertake their own research in relation to the facts and figures
applicable to their particular circumstance.