Illegal disposal of old tires is steadily increasing – tires don't rot
Bonn, December 03.12.2020rd, 2016 The cases of illegally disposed tires are steadily increasing. The ZARE initiative has been keeping records of the reported disposals since XNUMX and the numbers are alarming. Year after year, more tires are simply dumped in nature. Professional disposal and subsequent recycling is possible without any problems and at low cost.
The ZARE initiative is watching the current trend with concern. It has been proven that every two to three days, old tires are discarded somewhere in nature, preferably in forests or on roadsides that are difficult to see, and left to their own devices. The number of unreported cases is likely to be significantly higher. While ZARE was able to document 2016 of these cases nationwide in 35, this year there have already been 151, more than four times as many. "What ZARE determines is probably just the tip of the iceberg," says Yorick M. Lowin from the ZARE initiative.
Tires have an average half-life of 2000 years. They do not rot or only very slowly. For comparison, while archaeologists today are finding shards and remains of walls from Roman times, 2.000 years from now, this profession will be excavating mountains of old tires.
A clear map from ZARE clearly shows that the regions in the "old" federal states are much more affected than the 5 new federal states. However, only the reported cases can be documented here. The number of unreported disposals is likely to be significantly higher. The map also roughly reflects the population density. It can therefore be said that where many people live, more tires are disposed of illegally.
In addition to the spoiled landscape, the old tires in nature also promote the mosquito population. Water collects in the tires, which serves as a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. Perhaps not yet a problem in Germany, these insects are responsible for the spread of diseases in other countries, such as Zika fever, which is caused by the Zika virus.
"Tires should be disposed of properly," explains Yorick M. Lowin. This is exactly what the certified scrap tire disposal companies stand for. They check the old tires and recycle them. Depending on the condition of the carcass, the tires can be given a second life by retreading, or the old tires are broken down into their components and then reused in other products. A small part is also used to generate energy, thereby conserving valuable resources.
The certified used tire disposal companies in the BRV have been campaigning for years to ensure that used tires are disposed of professionally. Since there is no public reporting of illegal dumping of scrap tires, this atlas "illegal dumping of scrap tires" has been kept since 2016 - which is certainly not complete, but shows a trend. Illegal dumping of scrap tires is a punishable offence. Different countries suspect this offense differently. Information is available at: https://zertisierte-altreifenentsorger.de/nachhaltige-altreifenentsorgung/illegale-altreifenentsorgung-ist-kein-kavaliersdelikt/
About the ZARE initiative
The ZARE initiative is an association of 19 certified old tire disposal companies organized in the Bundesverband Reifenhandel und Vulkaniseur-Handwerk eV (BRV), which has set itself the task of raising awareness of professional tire recycling in Germany. All ZARE partners are members of the BRV. ZARE informs drivers about environmentally friendly disposal of old tires. At 26 locations, the ZARE partners cover almost all of Germany and the Netherlands.
The partners of the initiative are:
Allgemeine Gummiwertstoff und Reifenhandels GmbH, Bender Reifen Recycling GmbH, CVS Reifen GmbH, Danninger OHG Spezialtransporte, Hartung Speditions-, Handels- und Transport GmbH, HRV GmbH, KARGRO BV, KRAIBURG Austria GmbH & Co. KG, KURZ Karkassenhandel GmbH, Mondo Reifenmarkt GmbH , MRH Mülsener Rohstoff- und Handelsgesellschaft mbH, PVP Triptis GmbH, Reifen DRAWS GmbH, Reifen Külshammer, Reifengruppe Ruhr, REIFEN OKA - tire trade, tire recycling company Brenz GmbH, RuLa-BRW GmbH, TireTech GmbH
Material:
Press text as Word document for download
Press release as PDF file for download
Figure 1: zare_infographic_totalnumber_illegally_disposed_old_tires_within_germany_.jpg
Caption 1: The total number of researched illegally disposed old tires within Germany in the period from 2016 to 2020.
Source: ZARE initiative
Figure 2: zare_infographic_division_private_and_commercial_deposits_in_germany.jpg
Caption 2: The illegally disposed of old tires are divided into private and commercial old tire deposits.
Source: ZARE initiative
Figure 3: zare_karte_illegale_old-tire-deposit.jpg
Caption 3: The ZARE initiative's "illegal deposits of scrap tyres" map.
Source: ZARE initiative
