Reusing tires (i.e., retreading) offers the best strategy for value recovery, requiring the least new material and energy to achieve the highest value-added use in the economy.
For tires damaged beyond repair, less than 40% of the energy embedded in tires is recoverable as fuel energy. Use of tires aggregates, for example, may not offset energy use, but it does offset energy use when replacing polymers.
The very performance properties sought in tire manufacture (e.g., strength and durability) frustrate attempts to recycle tires into products. More fundamental changes include the design of tires and ease of de-vulcanization.
Encouraging reuse and research and development (R&D) of enabling technologies offer promise for wiser management of this solid waste stream and better conservation of natural resources.
