The process of recycling a vehicle often involves several steps, one of which is deciding how to recycle the tires on the automobile. When they shop at junkyards, some drivers buy used tires that still have good tread and use them as replacement tires. But what happens to tires that aren’t purchased? In many cases, they are recycled using the methods below, among others.
Tire Retreading
Some tires have enough rubber around the wheel to be retreaded after the original threading has mostly worn away. Low profile tires like the ones you see on customized luxury vehicles may lack enough thickness for retreading, but high-profile tires, like the ones you often see on large pickup trucks and SUVs, are often good candidates for the tire retreading process.
Tire Grinding
Another option for recycling tires is tire grinding — a process in which tires are ground into small pieces that can be reprocessed and used for a wide variety of purposes, such as creating imitation mulch, paving playground areas with rubber, manufacturing roof tiles, creating highway noise control barriers, and creating crash barriers at racetracks, just to name a few.
Energy Recovery
Used tires can also be recycled by combusting them to produce energy. Tire rubber is known to burn hotter and longer than many other combustible materials. As long as the user has an energy recovery process in place that prevents combusted rubber from contributing to carbon pollution, using tires to produce energy can be a cheap, clean way to produce lots of power.
Rubber Devulcanization
A fourth option for recycling used tires is rubber devulcanization. Because it can be revulcanized to produce a variety of products, including boat fenders, turf for sports tracks, and highway guards, devulcanized rubber is highly valuable as a manufacturing material. There are four common methods of rubber devulcanization: chemical, ultrasonic, microwave, and biological.
Contact Wrench-A-Part
If you are interested in recycling a vehicle by selling or donating it to a junkyard, Wrench-A-Part is here to help. Not only will we pay you a competitive price for your end-of-life vehicle, or accept it as a donation. We will also send leftover recyclable materials from the automobile to recyclers. All you need to do is sell or donate your end-of-life vehicle to us, and we will handle the rest.
For more information about recycling a vehicle, or to receive a price quote, call one of our locations in Austin, Belton, or Lubbock to request a consultation, or fill out our contact form.
