4 Unusual Uses for Old Tyres

Each year over 1 billion tyres are manufactured across the globe. The average lifespan of a tyre ranges anywhere from a matter of months to 5 years.

So, there are a lot of car tyres that require recycling, making them a large and problematic source of waste.

With today being Earth Day 2022 - we have been looking into how people take old tyres and reuse them to try and help reduce this waste.

Here are some of the more unusual uses for a tyre that has gone past its best - rather than simply adding to landfills.

Shoes

Yes, one way in which tyres past their prime are being put to good use is through shoemaking. Some companies are using the technology from tread design in the design of their soles – such as the adidas x Continental tyre shoes.

Playgrounds

Tyres have been used as pieces of apparatus in playgrounds for years – however more recently they have also been used to create the very ground that the children play on.

Recycled rubber from old tyres makes for a perfect source of flooring that helps to minimise impact with the ground when an over excited child falls flat on their face during playtime.

Furniture

Furniture may seem like an odd niche market for recycled tyres – it brings to mind some rather unsavoury practises! However, there are people out there creating stylish furniture. From barstools to armchairs to mirrors and more. I am just wondering whether the stuff still smells of rubber when someone buys it for their house…?

Garden Planters

Considered by many to be a hazard and blot to the landscape, old tyres can in fact turn that opinion around when used as garden planters. There are plenty of examples on the internet of people simply painting a whole tyre and using this as the basis for their planter.