TIME TO RE‑TIRE?
Every two weeks, Americans wear almost 50 million pounds of rubber off their tires. That's
enough to make 114 million new tires from scratch.
BACKGROUND.
Tires have a bigger impact on the environment than you might think. By
maintaining them properly, you help conserve the energy and resources that
would go into making new ones, prevent the pollution generated by tire
production, save gasoline, and reduce the problems created when we throw them
away. (They're bulky, don't decompose, and provide places for mosquitoes to
breed.)
TIRE-TRIVIA. Some
240‑260 million tires are discarded annually in the U.S. In fact, right
now there are billions of tires clogging landfill space all over the country.
Some landfill operators don't even accept scrap tires ... or they charge more because tires often
don't stay buried‑they trap gas and float to the top of landfills.
In New York state alone, tires take up an estimated half‑million
cubic yards of landfill space each year.
It takes half a barrel of crude oil to produce the rubber in
one truck tire.
THE COST OF INFLATION
We don't normally think of tire inflation as an
environmental issue, but it is. Keeping tires properly inflated preserves the
life of the tires (preventing premature wear from "overflexing" and
overheating), and saves gas.
Right now, there are more than half a billion tires being
used in the U.S. It is estimated that an incredible 50% to 80% of them are
underinflated.
Since underinflation can waste up to 5% of a car's fuel by
in. creasing "rolling resistance," this meani that more than 65
million car owners could substantially boost their cars' fuel efficiency by
simply putting more air in their tires. How much gas could we save with this
simple step? Up to 2 billion gallons a year.