The future of the world’s environment has never been so important as it is right now. Industries of all types are searching for cleaner forms of energy and production solutions that have less impact on the environment.
Tires are one of the world’s most common products, yet for years these products have caused high levels of pollution. Not only the tires themselves, but the manufacturing processes have sent high levels of pollutants into the environment.
Some manufacturers are looking to drastically change the way people look at tires. Researching and implementing cleaner, more environmentally friendly manufacturing process, as well as using more sustainable raw materials to produce the tires. The hope of these manufacturers is eventually all tires will be greener along with cleaner production processes across the board.
This article will uncover some of the important aspects of green tire manufacturing and potential environmental impacts. Finally, the impact on the tire consumer will be covered, bringing together idealistic and real-world implications.
What are Green Tires?
These manufacturing process and materials used in producing traditional tires lead to high levels of pollution and are sourced from unsustainable resources. Some of these materials include the rubber and petroleum-based substances that are added to traditional tires. And with crude oil prices always in a consistent state of flux, this makes material costs inconsistent, which drives up the price.
Alternatively, green tires are manufactured in more energy efficient ways and are designed for lower rolling resistance, which leads to lower fuel consumption over the life of the tire. Additionally, green tires are made from more sustainable and recycled materials.
Green Manufacturing
Green manufacturing goes well beyond the materials used to make tires. It involves the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, as well as implementing environmentally friendly practices around waste disposal. Also, green manufacturing entails adhering to the highest quality standards and safety practices.
Automated Intelligent Lean Manufacturing practices by Giti Tire are the future of green tire manufacturing. These practices help to ensure adherence to high-quality production standards while providing a reduction in chemical emissions detrimental to the environment. Proper wastewater management and control of waste materials are key features in lean manufacturing.
Low Rolling Resistance Tires
Carbon dioxide emission levels are directly affected by a vehicles fuel consumption. Fuel consumption can be improved by the production of streamlined low rolling resistance tires. These tires cause less friction between the tire and the road allowing the vehicle to use less energy (fuel) to propel the vehicle forward). Modifications in the key design of tires have taken years of research and development. Many leading manufacturers have implemented these changes to their green tires.
Sustainable or recycled materials
Perhaps the most important aspect of green tires comes from what make up the tires themselves. Spend some time around a speedway or walk across a well-traveled highway and you will quickly discover that the tires on every vehicle on the road leave a little of themselves behind on every stretch of roadway. These remnants of the tires end up in our lakes and rivers and are not biodegradable. In fact, there is no way for a traditional tire to be disposed of that would not cause a negative impact on the environment.
Therefore, finding and sourcing sustainable and recycled materials is essential for any green tire to be made. While there are many substances found in tires, the most researched appears to be silica, a versatile and sustainable material derived from sand, glass, and quartz, that acts as a binding agent in tires. It should also come as no surprise that a key component in green tires includes using recycled materials, including from traditional tires, as well as recycled plastics and rubber.
Environmental Considerations
Green tire manufacturing has a strong impact on the environment, particularly in the immediate surrounding area. Traditional tires are manufactured with processes that use an immense about of polluted water run-off. This has a huge impact on wildlife, drinking water, as well as potentially an impact on human health.
Alternatively, green tire manufacturing practices strive to improve the quality of water runoff by following strict manufacturing guidelines. Additionally, Giti, a leading global manufacturer of green tires provides additional assistance through Freshwater Initiatives. Giti is leading the way in environmental protection and raising industry standards to heights never seen.
World-Wide Impact
It may be easy to write off the impact of failing to use green tires and demand that the manufacturer implements greener tire manufacturing processes. Out of sight and out of mind is easy when you are not immediately dependent on the water from these manufacturing plants, or you do not pay attention to what your tires are made from.
However, environmental pollutants do impact everyone around the world. From reduced air quality, battles and wars over the control of oil, even the cost of transporting goods and services is affected by tires. The longer we remain slaves to these traditional methods, the farther from a solution we fall.
Consumer Impact
Many individuals do not understand how what goes into producing a tire could have a significant impact on the everyday consumer. In addition to the many environmental implications of traditional tire production, there is now and will continue to be, a large impact on the cost of tires. The ever-changing cost of crude oil that is used in the production of traditional tires continues to drive up the cost to the manufacturers.
Additionally, consumers generally agree that there needs to be more regulations demanding cleaner manufacturing processes in many of the world’s biggest production industries. Tire manufacturing is no different. Tire manufacturing is a huge piece of the world’s global economy. So, as consumers demand more regulations and adherence to greener production methods, there will be fines, and costs associated with the process, all of which will end up being passed on to the consumer in some way. All leading to your next set of radials costing you significantly more.
Conclusion
The goal of this article was to explain, in simple terms, green tire manufacturing, what it involves and its potential impact. Hopefully, you have found some understanding of the process and further realize the future possibilities that may come with this emerging new industry.
