Auto shops recycling tires on the rise

Interesting news lately on the rubber and tire recycling front. A new study shows that 88 percent of auto repair shops recycle their tires. That's great news for us, that is of course, if they donate (or sell!) the used tires to turn into our great bark. The study, published by the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, according to a CNET article, concluded that the efforts by auto shops to recycle the tires helps keep over 300 million tires out of landfills each year. 


However, according to a Tire Review article responding to the findings, said that it's standard practice for shops to recycle, because of environmental regulations. The percentage is actually lower than it should be, if all auto shops were following environmental guidelines, and "when it comes to scrap tire collection and disposal, auto repair shops fall under the same laws and regulations as full-fledged tire dealers. The comparatively few tires these “auto service shops” handle (compared to a tire dealer) represent a very small portion of the 230 million new replacement passenger and light truck/SUV tires sold in 2010, and the hundreds of millions of scrap tires that were processed through to disposal sites last year." 


So what does this mean for Rubber Bark™? Those auto shops that do recycle deserve some credit for doing, well, what they should be doing anyway. However, it also means that many shops aren't following environmental regulations, which is incredibly unfortunate (think of all the tires wasted that could be turned into wonderful bark, or a bench, or a horse stall mat!) We hope that this new information wakes up those shops that currently are not following regulations and consider donating their scrap tires to Rubber Bark™.