| It's time to face facts. Your stalwart friends have | | | | 1999, CATRA's goal is to enhance scrap tire |
| carried you for thousands of kilometres, through | | | | recycling across Canada and help keep tires out |
| thick and thin, through heat and snow, but they | | | | of landfills. |
| are reaching the end of their life. The end of their | | | | People often forget that recycling is just one way |
| life as automobile tires anyway. | | | | to keep stuff out of landfills. When it comes to |
| The amount of tires that reach the end of their | | | | tires, it is also possible to reuse them. We've |
| life every year is truly staggering. Exact numbers | | | | already covered selling them, but if the tires are |
| aren't currently available, but if you piled up every | | | | too worn this is not possible. However, there are |
| tire discarded in North America rest assured that | | | | other ways to reuse your old tires. |
| you would have a really, really big pile of tires. | | | | If you have enough used tires, you can build a |
| Some estimates says that every year one tire | | | | house. Seriously. They are called Earthships, and |
| gets to the end of the road for every man, | | | | they are environmentally friendly, not to mention |
| woman, and child on the continent. | | | | beautiful, self-sufficient, and cheap to build. |
| What to do with all these discarded is a bit of a | | | | If building an entire house seems a bit ambitious, |
| head ache. Throwing them in landfills is simply | | | | then another option is to cut the tire in half like a |
| wasteful. Not only do they take up landfill space | | | | biscuit. This makes a handy backyard water |
| we cannot afford to use, but tires are packed | | | | trough for your family dog. Painted, it makes an |
| with energy and valuable plastics that present | | | | unusual planter for bedding plants. |
| recycling techniques can help to reclaim. | | | | Tires are hard to dispose of because they are |
| Depending on how badly worn your tires are, you | | | | very durable. But it is this very durability that |
| may be able to sell them to a used tire shop. If | | | | makes them useful in a variety of outdoor |
| this is not an option, you may want to visit | | | | applications. With a little creativity and effort you |
| This is the site of the Canadian Association of | | | | can keep them out of landfills and use them to |
| Tire Recycling Agencies (CATRA). Formed in | | | | make something beautiful. |