Better than burning?

Where do old tires go to die?

On our trip to New Mexico last November we saw this "tire fence" as we walked down to the Rio Grand River.  There are few things I hate more than the smell of burning tires, yet what is a feasible alternative?  The above photo shows one short-term solution that accomplishes little more than organizing the junk tires into a less offensive arrangement.

Recently I read--in some magazine that I can't remember--that science is on the verge of creating a permanent non-pneumatic tire for automobile and truck usage.  (In a Google search I found this article about military and mining uses for non-pneumatic tires.) In the short term we would be deluged with cast-off pneumatics and no good place to put them.  In the long run it could perhaps be a solution for one of our most serious problems of non-biodegradability. Meanwhile what do we do with our current dead pneumatics?  Storage, burial or cremation?

Comments

[Corrina]

I think old tires can be chopped up and recycled into road material. Horse people also use it to augment their arena footing.