Retiring Tires

April 7, 2008 / Add comment

In 1998, a grass fire near Tracy, California ignited a stockpile of discarded rubber tires that burned for two and half years and cost $19 million to clean up. Recycling old tires uses more energy than manufacturing new ones -- so what is to be done with the 300 million tires that are discarded each year? Gugliotta outlines several innovative recycling methods that transform them into dams, basketball courts, and highways. And there's also another option: using the tires as industrial fuel. Gugliotta's detailed write-up finally presents an environmental scare that could have a happy ending.