What do you do with your car’s old tyres? Do you recycle them, or do you dispose of them in landfills or even in your backyard? When the tyres of our vehicles wear and tear, we always throw them in the backyard or even dispose of them in the landfills without caring about what will happen to the tyres or the environment where the tyres are disposed of. Unfortunately, all these methods that people use for tyre disposal are wrong and have a significant impact on the environment. In this article, we will cover the different ways in which improper tyre disposal affects the environment and how to prevent improper tyre disposal.
Adverse Effects of Improper Tyre Disposal on the Environment
When the tyres are disposed of in the environment, they have the following negative impacts on the environment;
- Tyre fires
In the same environment where people dispose of tyres, some people love burning things. Therefore, when you dispose of tyres, and an arsonist ignites fire or even the fire is spontaneously ignited, these tyres will be a very significant risk to the environment. They will not only burn everything around them but putting off this fire will be a great challenge even to the people responsible for extinguishing fire.
- Air pollution
Tyres do not have to burn for them to cause air pollution. When you dispose of them in the environment, they will release very harmful chemicals that will pollute the air. Additionally, when tyres burn during tyre fires, they release toxic pollutants like nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide into the environment. These pollutants are hazardous and cause respiratory problems to anyone who inhales the polluted air.
Water pollution
Improper tyre disposal also causes water pollution. This is because the tyres leach dangerous substances like oils, plasticisers, and heavy metals into the soil and the ground where they are disposed of. When the seasons of heavy rains come, these pollutants are washed away by the runoff water and disposed of in the water sources. This is not only a challenge for human beings who depend on the water for their survival but also for aquatic life.
- Destruction of wildlife habitat
In a case where tyre disposal is done in sensitive areas like forests, coastal regions and wetlands, the natural habitat for wildlife is destroyed. The disposed tyres also destroy the soil composition and inhibit the growth of plants. Also, when the tyres accumulate in one place, they prevent wildlife from moving freely.
Additionally, some animals end up ingesting the debris from the tyres or getting entangled when trying to move from one place to another. Therefore, the habitat of wildlife is not only destroyed anytime people dispose of tyres in the wrong way but also the safety, well-being and health of the wild animals are affected.
- Public health concerns
One of the health issues that people near tyre disposal sites face is respiratory issues as a result of inhaling polluted air. Also, when surface runoff water washes away the pollutants in the tyres or ground, the water sources are polluted. As a result, anyone who takes water from polluted sources experiences health issues. Additionally, the tyres provide an excellent breeding ground for mosquitoes, which means that the people around these dump sites are susceptible to getting diseases like malaria.
How Can We Prevent Improper Tyre Disposal?
Specific measures can be put in place to prevent the improper disposal of tyres. This includes;
- Encouraging people to recycle tyres
- Developing new markets for products made of recycled tyres
- Enforcing rules and regulations that will prevent illegal tyre disposal
- Educating the public on the effects of improper tyre disposal
Look for a company that handles reliable tyres disposal near you.