How and Why Your Small Business Should Be Recycling Tires

If your business owns any vehicles, there may come a time when you need to dispose of old, worn-out tires.

But that doesn’t mean you should just drop them into a landfill. In fact, some states and cities have specific rules about how you can and can’t dispose of tires.

That’s where recycling comes in. By recycling your old tires, you can provide raw materials for things like playground equipment and cut down on waste in your community. Here’s more on why you should recycle your business’s tires, and tips on how to do so.

Benefits of Recycling Tires

Make Money Selling Tires

The reasons behind recycling tires don’t require you to be totally selfless as a business owner. Your bottom line can actually benefit as well.

In some cases, you can actually sell old tires to retreading shops in order to make some extra cash. Those shops can process the raw materials and turn them back into usable tires or give them new life as things like construction equipment. In some parts of the country, people have even been able to build entire businesses around this concept.

Reduce Harmful Substances in Your Area

Old tires contain oils that can contaminate soil. And when broken down or burned, they can release toxic chemicals into the air. If that’s not enough, they can also attract pests and become breeding grounds for mosquitoes due to their ability to collect standing water.

So not only can recycling tires be beneficial for the environment, but it can help to make your community a more pleasant and safe place to live. And since it’s estimated that about 300 million tires are disposed of in the U.S. each year, recycling has the potential to make a pretty big impact overall.

Provide Materials for Construction Manufacturers

Though recycling tires can be a complicated process, the raw materials that come from it can help a variety of different industries.

Construction companies can use the rubber material to develop various pieces of equipment. Clothing and shoe manufacturers can use the material to develop soles and other products. And old tires can even serve as a source of fuel.

So by recycling tires, you can provide materials for businesses in a wide range of industries. And if your business specializes in any of those areas, you could even directly put those materials back into your own operations.

How to Recycle Tires

Finally, depending on your location it may actually be necessary for you to recycle tires. For example, Hawaii restricts the ability for individuals or businesses to dispose of tires without recycling them. But it permits recycling facilities to collect them for a nominal fee. And many garages will also collect them free of charge, even if you aren’t purchasing new ones. To find out the laws regarding tire disposal in your state, you can check out this list from the EPA.

So recycling tires, even if there aren’t specific laws in place in your area right now, can be a good idea just to help your business avoid inadvertently breaking any rules.

And it doesn’t have to be difficult. According to the EPA, most garages are required to accept old tires and recycle them when you have new ones installed. Or you could also take them to a local recycling center that accepts tires. There are usually fees involved in recycling, depending on your local recycling centers’ policies. But it’s normally just a couple of dollars per tire, with some accepting a few tires at a time for free.

Used Tires Photo via Shutterstock

This article, "How and Why Your Small Business Should Be Recycling Tires" was first published on Small Business Trends