An unfortunate aspect of the tyre industry is the amount of waste that it produces. With over 50 million tyres per year being disposed of, only 5% of them are recycled. That means there are almost 47 million tyres that aren’t being accounted for, taking up room in landfills, stockpiled or dumped illegally. Illegal dumping, unfortunately, makes up a large percentage of this waste, with many companies not following recycling regulations.
This is where you can step in and do your part by disposing of your waste tyres correctly. If you don’t know how to dispose of tyres properly, this article will outline a few dos and don’ts for you.
Can you dispose of them in your home bin?
Short answer, no. Old tyres cannot be disposed of in your home bin, as they can’t be taken to landfill sites. There is a very good reason for this as tyres contain several materials like rubber and steel that don’t break down and damage the local environment. Most landfill sites won’t take waste tyres because of this very reason. So if you need to take it to the tip, get in touch with them first to see if they offer a tyre disposal service. Chances are they don’t though.
What can you do with old tyres then?
We know you can’t leave old worn-out tyres laying around your home. Understandably, you’ll want to get rid of them, but the question is how?
Take them to a tyre recycling facility
The most common way people dispose of their old tyres is by taking them to a tyre recycling facility. There the tyres will be broken down into their base components, usually oil, carbon, and steel. There is a multitude of things to make with these materials, including; road surfaces, rubber sports tracks, rubber turf, fuel, building insulation and even new tyres. Tyres contain a number of valuable materials that when recycled can go a long way in helping Australia become greener.
Get your local tyre fitter to take them
We’ll begin this with a preface, every company is different and will have different methods of disposing of waste. If your old tyre is still in decent condition, it can be sold as a second-hand tyre, as long as it’s road legal. It’s best to deal with it through tyre service centres, rather than selling it yourself. If you’re not an expert in all things tyres, you may not know if your old tyres are road safe.
If the tyres are all worn-out, they’ll need to be disposed of. To do your part for the environment, get in touch with them and enquire about how they dispose of end-of-life tyres. Any reputable company will take the tyres to a recycling service, rather than just taking them to the tyre dump.
We can take them
If you need someone to take them, we will! Usually, you can’t put scrap tyres in skip bins, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take them off you. Just make sure to tell us beforehand.
Kwik Skips is a skip bin hire in Perth service that strives to do the best it can for the environment. We follow correct disposal methods to comply with the regulations of the Australian government, so you can rest assured your old car tyres aren’t going to do any extra polluting.
Just keep in mind that because tyres are so hard to recycle, we charge an extra fee. Depending on the rim sizes, the fee can be between $30-$60. So if you’re in need of some skip bins in Perth, get in touch with us and we’ll happily take your discarded tyres off your hands.
How to take tyres off the rim
It’s easy enough to take a wheel off a car, but do you know how to remove it from the rim? If you are unsure of how to do it, follow these steps. Make sure you have these items: A valve stem removal tool, a car (with wheels), a pry bar, a screwdriver, and some dish soap or tyre lube.
- First off you’ll need to deflate the tyre with the valve stem. Lay the tyre on a flat, solid surface with the valve point up. Then push the tool into the valve and turn counterclockwise. It’ll deflate as you remove it, so just be mindful.
- Carefully drive the car to the edge of the tyre until it depresses the rubber slightly. This will loosen the bead running along the edge of the rim.
- The bead should be loose now, and you can take the car away. Now put one foot on the rubber parts of the wheel to hold it in place as you use a screwdriver to pry the rubber away from the rim lip. Alternate with the pry bar to help remove the tyre. Use the soap or tyre lube to help it slide.
- Once the lip is over the rim you should be able to easily pull the rim free from the tyre.
