Effective use of used tires

ENTRY DATE: 25.12.2014 | LAST UPDATE: 25.12.2014

CATEGORIES:

  • Disaster Prevention
  • Applicable to any disaster (Hard measures)

TECHNOLOGIES MATURITY:

Applicable immediately (technology maturity is quite high, but actual uses in Japan are still limited)

Technology Owners:

Private sector companies

Needs Address

The needs to prevent and reduce disasters from storm surges in coastal areas, and landslide disasters in mountainous areas.

Adaptation effects

  • Disaster prevention and mitigation from high waves and storm surges in coastal areas, disaster reduction on mountain slopes. 
  • Emergency response and restoration after a disaster in a river basin, including erosion and flooding due to heavy rain, etc.

Overview and Features

  • In developing countries, the volume of industrial waste from used tires is growing along with increases in automobile traffic, and this technology offers a way to effectively use scrap tires as a building material. Inherent benefits include cost reductions from the reuse of waste, as well as a reduction of environmental impacts, but depending on how the tires are used, additional adaptation benefits could result if the technology is used for disaster reduction. 
  • Depending on the application, used tires can be cut in various sizes and shapes, and used in a variety of ways. Many applications are possible, including using tires in their original form as an embankment, cutting them into pieces for use a roadbed material, filling sandbags, or as embankments. (See Factsheet 6 "Stacking method of large weather-resistant sandbags" for the use of scrap tires material in stacked sandbags.)

    Chart: Various forms for reusing scrap tires

    Original form

    Shredded

    Chipped

    E.g, partly cut, stacked

    50-300mm

    50 mm or smaller

    Sources:
    • Yasuhara, K., Karmokar, A.K., Kato, Y., Mogi, H. & Fukutake, K. 2006. "Effective utilization technique of used tires for foundations and earth structures," Kisoko 2006.2, 58-63 (in Japanese).
    • Yasuhara, K., Hemanta Hazarika, & Fukutake, K. 2006. "Utilization technique of used tires for earth structures," Civil Engineering Journal, 61(10), 79-86, 2006.10 (in Japanese). 

     
    Photo: Applications of cut tires for simple construction of embankments (Top: Tire top cut to create basin shape. Bottom: Embankment cross-section)


    Figure: Crap tires used as fill material, backfill material, slope greening 
    (Source: Yasuhara, K., Karmokar, A.K., Kato, Y., Mogi, H. & Fukutake, K. -63. "Effective utilization technique of used tires for foundations and earth structures," Kisoko 2006.2, 58-63 (in Japanese))

Cost

Initial cost: Relatively low cost due to the use of waste materials.

Ease of maintenance

If scrapped tires are used with a stacking method for emergency restoration and temporary reconstruction after a disaster, then monitoring, construction, and maintenance will be relatively easy, as the intention would be to replace the work soon thereafter. 

Technology performance

This technology has been proven to perform well as ground/foundation material.

Considerations

It is necessary to check for chemical substances eluted from the tires, and any impacts on the environment. Research from the National Institute for Environmental Studies has reported that zinc is eluted but with little impact on organisms and the human body.

Co-benefit, suitability for developing countries

  • This is an infrastructure development technology that makes effective use of waste, as well as a disaster prevention and mitigation technology, and it leads to waste reduction and cost reduction. 
  • If a specific source of material is available locally, this technology becomes more effective if used in combination with that source.

Information Resources

  • Yasuhara, K.: Recent Japanese experiences on scrapped tires for geotechnical experiences, Keynote Lecture, International Workshop TDGM 2007, 17-40
  • “Stacking method of large weather-resistant sandbags: Design and installation manual,” Public Works Research Center (2012) (in Japanese).