Firestone Recall Highlights Tire Disposal Problems
As some 6.5 million Bridgestone/Firestone tires are being recalled, suspected in a string of 88 traffic deaths, the company will have to dispose of the suspect tires.
As some 6.5 million Bridgestone/Firestone tires are being recalled, suspected in a string of 88 traffic deaths, the company will have to dispose of the suspect tires.
"That's quite a big logistics problem -- the nuts and bolts of that are still being ironed out," said Bob Nolan of Ford Motor Company, which put many of the suspect tires on its Ford Explorer sports utility vehicles.
But Firestone's millions of unwanted tires are a drop in the bucket compared to the number of tires Americans get rid of every year.
"The 6.5 million tires represent 2.5 percent of the 276 million scrap tires that are produced," said Michael Blumenthal of the Rubber Manufacturers Association. "Basically, it's a very small number."
Bridgestone/Firestone said tires returned to company-owed stores are going into the mix with all the other tires the company recycles. Tires returned to independent dealers are being rounded up and shipped to regional distribution centers.
In a statement to CNN, Firestone said: "We are working to manage the 6.5 million tires under recall in an environmentally sound manner."
About 70 percent of the tires Americans wear out each year are recycled, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Some are shredded and used to make other products. Other tires are mixed into asphalt, formed into surfaces for playgrounds and running tracks or burned as fuel.
But environmentalists say reclaimed rubber and other materials from discarded tires are not suitable for production of tires or other durable rubber goods. As a result, most of the scrap tires accumulate in dumps and create hazards for infestation, water pollution and fire.
The number of tires stockpiled in the United States varies, depending on the source of information.
The EPA reports that at least 800 million scrap tires remain in stockpiles around the country. However, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute places the number at between 2 billion and 3 billion.
Environmentalists warn that the average tire contains nearly a gallon of oil, which can add fuel to fires or leak into groundwater. Because tires take up too much space in landfills, are flammable and can turn into breeding grounds for mosquitoes, states began regulating tire disposal in the 1980s.
"States are doing an excellent job in keeping the tires in a controlled management situation," said EPA's Michael Shapiro.
However, the tire industry said about 30 million tires are illegally dumped or stockpiled each year.
Bridgestone/Firestone is promising that its recalled tires will not be among them.
"That's quite a big logistics problem -- the nuts and bolts of that are still being ironed out," said Bob Nolan of Ford Motor Company, which put many of the suspect tires on its Ford Explorer sports utility vehicles.
But Firestone's millions of unwanted tires are a drop in the bucket compared to the number of tires Americans get rid of every year.
"The 6.5 million tires represent 2.5 percent of the 276 million scrap tires that are produced," said Michael Blumenthal of the Rubber Manufacturers Association. "Basically, it's a very small number."
Bridgestone/Firestone said tires returned to company-owed stores are going into the mix with all the other tires the company recycles. Tires returned to independent dealers are being rounded up and shipped to regional distribution centers.
In a statement to CNN, Firestone said: "We are working to manage the 6.5 million tires under recall in an environmentally sound manner."
About 70 percent of the tires Americans wear out each year are recycled, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Some are shredded and used to make other products. Other tires are mixed into asphalt, formed into surfaces for playgrounds and running tracks or burned as fuel.
But environmentalists say reclaimed rubber and other materials from discarded tires are not suitable for production of tires or other durable rubber goods. As a result, most of the scrap tires accumulate in dumps and create hazards for infestation, water pollution and fire.
The number of tires stockpiled in the United States varies, depending on the source of information.
The EPA reports that at least 800 million scrap tires remain in stockpiles around the country. However, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute places the number at between 2 billion and 3 billion.
Environmentalists warn that the average tire contains nearly a gallon of oil, which can add fuel to fires or leak into groundwater. Because tires take up too much space in landfills, are flammable and can turn into breeding grounds for mosquitoes, states began regulating tire disposal in the 1980s.
"States are doing an excellent job in keeping the tires in a controlled management situation," said EPA's Michael Shapiro.
However, the tire industry said about 30 million tires are illegally dumped or stockpiled each year.
Bridgestone/Firestone is promising that its recalled tires will not be among them.
