Sometimes its larger, sometimes its smaller, but it is always there…the never ending pile of tires. For some reason I can never really get rid of it. There are always a couple of sets that I think I may use again and then there are the sets that are dry rotted and need a new home. A lot of times, I end up giving away the tires I didn’t like to friends and fellow riders.
I came across an interesting article on broomfieldenterprise.com while looking for possible recycling opportunities for these old tires. Apparently, in an effort to “go green”, many recycling companies are expanding their “non-traditional” recyclables to include items like tubes and tires.
Luckily, the Center for Hard-to-Recycle Materials, or CHaRM, in Boulder just added bike tires and tubes to its list of accepted “non-traditional” recyclables. CHaRM works hard to accept at least one new hard-to-recycle material each year, and this year celebrated Earth Day by adding these two materials to the list.
This is a great idea and I really applaud the recycling companies for expanding their resources into this area. I really hate throwing old tires and tubes into the trash, and that is part of the reason “the never ending pile” ever goes away.
Check your local recycle centers to see if they will take your old tires and tubes. Unfortunately, most of these places will charge you for your efforts. Hopefully in the future more centers will accept tires and tubes for free, but until then…I’ll continue to have my leaning tower of tires.