Tyres are recycled/reused in Perth
tyres for use in retaining wall in Perth, City of Canning
mulch around trees and in play surfaces
Tyres used in Australia are manufactured and generally recycled somewhere else. The last tyre manufacturer closed doors in Adelaide in 2010 with re-treading the only processing still carried out in thecountry. As tyres range in size from a lightweight bicycle tyre to huge dumpster truck items, the number of tyres are estimated in ‘equivalant weight of a passenger car tyre unit. (EPU)
Tyres are made of many materials, including, natural rubber, carbon black (a partially combusted hydrocarbon), fabric and steel. All of this and more is mixed and layered to give strong, flexible and resilient product. But then if it is strong, it becomes more difficult to separate and utilise the product at the end of its life.
Over 51 million EPU tyres come to end of life each year in Australia.’Stocks and fate of end of Life Tyres’: Hyder Report 2015 click here . With only about 16% being recycled, a voluntary scheme (Tyre Product Stewardship Scheme) was formed in 2015 whereby a fund has been set up to research possible uses for end of life tyres. Each participating business pays a levy on each imported tyre towards the fund.
Currently tyres to be recycled in WA are first shredded, and either exported to countries such as Malaysia or Korea for fuel in cement kilns, or used for mixing with road base, play surfaces and tree mulching.
The options for the remaining tyres include landfilling, stockpiling, or relocating by unscrupulous operators (eg sending whole to Vietnam for burning in sub-standard incinerators). Tyres are a serious health hazard when stockpiled;- a haven for rats, water reservoirs for breeding mosquitoes and potential fire hazard.
WA has a further issue of what to do with large heavy tyres from the mining and construction industries in the Pilbara and beyond. One earth moving tyre can weigh 100 times as much as a typical car passenger unit. The cost of transport and shredding means most are just stock piled on site. New Energy, a group given approval to build a pyrolisis plant to incinerate waste in Karratha and surrounds will have capacity take tyre feedstock.
