Tyres are one of the most disposable service items on a car. Not only that, but they are big, bulky, and not exactly the easiest things to get rid of.
But since those numbers have been uncovered, brands have been driving the force behind ensuring that tyres are being handled with care for the environment, directly and indirectly.
One of the larger driving forces comes from Bridgestone Australia, which is not only a tyre manufacturer and supplier, but also a fitter and service centre with nearly 200 stores nationally.
I sat down with the brand that has a closer eye on what happens to its tyres at the end of their life, which Bridgestone is pushing for more of in the industry.
What happens to tyres at the end of their life in Australia?
"A tyre can be crumbed, which can go into roads, it can go into flooring, and in that process, there are fibres that are taken out. The middle fibres and fabric fibres are then used for another purpose, and the crumb is then used in roads, whereas some of it is used as tyre-derived fuel. So the entire tyre is turned into a fuel, generally exported offshore, but some of it's being used locally, and it's a better carbon option than coal as well," said Hayes.
The polyester and nylon fibres can actually be used for a variety of products, including new tyres, sporting fields, fake grass and even textiles in clothing.
While the crumbled rubber can be mixed into asphalt to create a flexible road surface, it can also extend the lifespan of the road, reduce road noise, and create a more sealing treatment.
Another big industry is called Tyre Derived Fuel (TDF). Your car will never run on this, but it works well as a substitute for slow-burning fuels such as coal in industrial equipment. However, there has been a push for TDF to be used as part of biodiesel by a business called Southern Oil Refineries in South Australia.
Surprisingly, the crumb is less commonly put back into tyres as it does have its grip and flex limits.
Another initiative that tyre suppliers can volunteer for is Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA), a research-based company dedicated to cleaning up dumped tyres and exploring new recycling methods.
"The Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) is a voluntary stewardship scheme that we've been a voluntary member of since 2015. What that involves is every tyre that we sell within the country, we donate an amount to the TSA, where multi-millions per year go towards research and development into end-of-life management in new innovations," said Hayes.
"Another thing that we do is we manage our own retail network to make sure that they're doing the right thing. So as a customer, if you were to take your car to Bridgestone and give them your old tyres, customers want to know what we are going to do with these tyres.
"We make sure that all of our retail stores are using TSA-accredited recyclers, which means that these recyclers have gone through an accreditation process, which is really a process of traceability of where those tyres have been going."
TSA is responsible for most of the tyre recycling projects in the country, including masonry, sealed roads, rubber compound on playgrounds, furniture, and more. You can check out all of its projects here.
Zane Dobie comes from a background of motorcycle journalism, working for notable titles such as Australian Motorcycle News Magazine, Just Bikes and BikeReview. Despite his fresh age, Zane brings a lifetime of racing and hands-on experience. His passion now resides on four wheels as an avid car collector, restorer, drift car pilot and weekend go-kart racer.
