Manufacturing can have a detrimental effect on the environment if left unchecked. The world needs manufacturing for everything—from cars to watches—so there’s a need for balance. Consumer goods can be made in a responsible way that minimizes the impact on the world at large. For example, tire manufacturing is finding new ways to help the environment. Let’s look at how car tires are becoming more eco-friendly.

Reducing Rolling Resistance

Rolling resistance is the amount of energy a vehicle consumes through a tire’s deformation as it connects with the road. Cars and trucks use fuel to power the engine so it can move. More energy is needed to move a vehicle with malformed tires that are out of round. A properly inflated, round tire takes less energy, or fuel, to move than a flat tire. Engineers at tire companies are working to improve the rolling resistance on their tires. They are considering the air pressure, temperature, durability, and load index when making improvements. In the end, the lower the rolling resistance, the better for the environment a tire is.

Recycling Old Tires

Recycling tires isn’t just logical; it’s essential. Tires are large and take up a lot of space in landfills. Finding new uses for old things is a time-honored tradition. Those that do without will find ways to recycle things cast aside by others. Today, we call that recycling, and recycling tires isn’t easy to do. Once a tire has outlived its usefulness, there are other uses for it. They are ground up into a granulated substance that has a host of uses. It’s used to make running tracks, roof shingles, carpet underlays, and drainage systems.

Sourcing New Materials

Car tires are becoming more eco-friendly by using new materials for their manufacture. The majority of tires are made from rubber in rubber trees. It is a long process removing the rubber from trees and transforming it into something useful. Many different process and companies take their turn in that supply chain, using a lot of resources along the way. Dandelions are a new resource for making tires. A specific dandelion found in Kazakhstan has fluid in the taproot that contains particles of tire grade rubber, similar to the trees. They are planting massive fields of the dandelion to ease the burden on the trees. RNR Tire Express tire stores in Augusta, GA, can recycle your old tires. Come in and get new tires, and we’ll dispose of the old ones for free.