Crumb Rubber: A Recycled Product
When John Boyd Dunlop patented the world's first pneumatic inflatable tire, in 1888, he undoubtedly never could have conceived how his invention would allow the world to move about so freely. From the Model T to the Humvee, and all those wonderful vehicles in between - the automotive industry has proven to be the most captive audience for that marvellous little invention called the tire. But this freedom to move has come with a steep environmental price tag, as the automobile has proven to be a continuous generator of pollutants. By the time its life cycle is over, the typical motorized vehicle will have worn through several sets of tires - most generally left behind at the local automotive shop.
Less than 80 years after Boyd's tires first hit the road, the proliferation of synthetic tires- with cheap imported oil as their prime raw material, made tire recycling less viable. At the same time, the public's demand for heavier-duty tires led to the development of the steel belted radial. Overnight, the logistics of tire recycling had taken a turn to being down-right complex. By the late 1980's the scrap tire problem was out of control; only about 10 percent of waste tires were being recycled. Numerous unsightly tire piles were appearing North America wide. Even worse, a number of catastrophic tire pile fires were quickly raising environmental awareness to this ever growing problem.
Scrap Tires into Crumb Rubber
Today, an entire industry of scrap tire recyclers has developed - complimented by numerous firms producing high-tech shredding equipment for them. Now, more than 80% of scrap generated tires are diverted from landfills and reused - in many creative ways. The state of California alone recycles some 26 million tires annually. Some of the most common consumer industries for recycled tires are TDF (tire derived fuel), asphalt paving, and athletic sports fields. The latter two require the tires to go through extensive shredding and processing sequences - ultimately reducing the tires to tiny granules, known as crumb rubber.
It is here that Target Technologies International (TTII) became involved a number of years ago. This reuse of millions of what would otherwise be discarded tires was a natural fit for the company's theme of marketing environmentally friendly products and solutions. TTII's principle markets for recycled crumb rubber products are artificial/synthetic sports fields, running track surfaces, and as playground mulch.
A Common Misconception about Crumb Rubber
At TTII, we receive many customer comments about our granulated crumb rubber products. Often these comments refer to the commodity-nature of how crumb is viewed in the marketplace. While it is perfectly true that due to its sizing, crumb rubber is produced and packaged as a bulk product - its origins are anything but simple. Today's tires are incredibly complex in design - constructed of multiple layers of materials (plies), steel belts, and a thick tread. In short, they are built to last.
To reduce a tire - even a worn one, into granulated crumb rubber involves doing exactly the opposite of what the tire makers had in mind: you have to destroy it. There are many tire shredding and crumb rubber operations around North America doing just that - but turning a whole tire into a 20 pounds of granulated rubber is an involved, and expensive process. The good news is that the overall product has become exceptionally cleaner in recent years. However, the soaring costs of fuel continue to add extreme upward pressure on crumb rubber pricing. A spin-off of this condition has been dramatically increased competition for tire feedstock from the TDF industry, as more and more firms licensed to burn tires as fuel are increasing the amounts burned. For crumb producers, this increases raw material costs as feedstock supplies get tighter.
The use of crumb rubber on athletic artificial sports fields will continue to increase in the near future. Thanks to wide spread recycling the lowly waste-tire is now gaining much deserved respect, and leaving a positive legacy for all the world to see and feel. Target Technologies International is proud to be a part of this heritage, for the athletes of tomorrow.