Americans throw away about 290 million tires each year. Ever since 1989 (when only about ten percent of tires were recycled) there were more efforts for tire reclamation. There are still however, about 55 million tires that are not reclaimed and are dumped or even thrown away illegally.

There are things known as tire graveyards. Here you see several hundreds of tires just laying there. They create a public health hazard. They are the perfect nesting and breeding areas for mosquitoes and rats! Eww! These creatures carry a variety of diseases that are hazardous to the public.

Another problem with these piles of tires is the risk of fire. The fire made from tire piles can go smoldering for weeks and maybe months! The major problem is that when tires burn, they release many toxic air pollutions. They may create serious health problems for people nearby. The rain water will also get contaminated as it runs off. This can lead to another series problem, pollution in the streams and nearby water sources.

This is all very bad news, but there are some good news among the pile. First off the scrap tires are being reclaimed in many ways the statistics say it all. About 130 million tires are used for fuel, and 56 million are recycled/ used in projects for civil engineering. Another 27 million tires were recycled to be used to make some things like roof pads, stall mats for livestock, mats for truck beds, and so forth. Another 9 million were shipped off to other countries where they may be used to make retreads. Another 12 million of these tires are used for rubber-modified asphalt on roads after they are ground up.
You might be wondering why used tires are not used to make new tires. Well, its an issue of safety. The tires need to be made from new rubber, and recycled rubber can only make up about 10 percent of the entire tire.