Eco-Friendly Tires: What to Know Before Buying
Going green is big business in today’s age. A joint survey by Green America, EcoVentures International, and the Association for Enterprise Opportunity found that 58 percent of small businesses have expanded their product lines by introducing green products. Additionally, the survey found the more environmentally beneficial the product, the higher the profit margin. The tire manufacturing business is no exception. As automobile manufacturers seek new ways of creating environmentally-friendly cars, they are looking to tire manufacturers for help.
Making a Tire “Green”
In general, manufacturing tires is not seen as eco-friendly because the process uses petroleum products. The process can give off harmful byproducts during the manufacturing process. By using new technologies during fabrication, tire companies are replacing petrochemicals with renewable resources that do not have hazardous derivatives.
When talking about “green”, “environmental friendly”, or “organic” products, definitions are critical. Since there are few regulations on the use of these terms, manufacturers can use them however they wish. When looking at eco-friendly tires, the environmental benefit comes from one of two places; the manufacturing process for creating a technologically innovative tire like the Kumho tire, or the tire's working efficiency as part of the automobile as a whole.
The other end of the eco-friendly spectrum comes with increasing the tire's efficiency. From a basic physics point of view, a car needs to supply energy to move the tire. Rolling resistance is the energy that is needed to spin the tire and it is the fundamental requirement of an automobile. An engine and tires make an automobile. Everything else is window dressing, so creating a tire that uses less energy while gripping the road ultimately increases the car’s fuel efficiency. The less gas the car uses means less carbon in the atmosphere.
Hitting the Pocketbook
Generally speaking, environmentally friendly or organic products cost more. This cost is usually passed down to the consumer. Happily, this does not appear to be the case with eco-friendly tires. A search of the online consumer website ConsumerSearch.com shows that tires labeled as eco-friendly are comparable in price with those that are not. This may derive from the high price of petroleum products. Since chemicals for so-called eco-friendly tires are substantially cheaper than oil, the savings can be rolled into research and development without costing the consumer.
Who Makes Green Tires?
Most of the big tire companies offer tires that are manufactured with an environmentally-conscious approach, have new low rolling-resistance technology, or both.
Continental Tire the Americas LLC – The company offers high performance tire, the kind used by sports cars, with reduced rolling resistance and reduced CO2 emission manufacturing technology.
Bridgestone and Michelin Green Tires – The Bridgestone Ecopia and the Michelin Green X line of tires claims to reduce rolling resistance, therefore increasing automobile fuel efficiency.
Hankook Green Tires – Hankook, based in Wayne, N.J., offered their Kontrol Technology as a solution to environmental issues by creating tires that last longer. The logic is that longer-lasting tires create less waste during their lifecycle.
Yokohama Green Tires – By mixing technologies, Yokohama is trying to go “dark green” with their tires. On the manufacturing end, Yokohama is replacing some of the petroleum based products with orange oil, which is cost effective, renewable, and does not give off volatile emissions. At the design end, their tires boast low rolling resistance and extended wear.
Pirelli Tires – By reinvesting around 7 percent of revenue back into green technology, Pirelli is positioning itself to be a leader in eco-friendly tire technology. Like Yokohama, Pirelli is investing in green technology, with new manufacturing machines that use less energy, and designs with reduced rolling resistance reduction.
Recycle and Renew
Just because the tread is gone does not mean an old tire has no use. The EPA reports that 290 million scrap tires are generated annually. About 56 million tires are reused in civil engineering projects, like road embankments or rubberized asphalt. There are 28 million tires that are ground up and used in projects, including house construction. Another 7 million tires are punched into new products. Because of the flexibility and durability of the rubber, scraps can be made into briefcases, shoes, and purses.
There are about 80 companies in the United States that burn scrap tires to produce energy. Depending of the user’s environmental stance, this can be a great benefit or a horrible attack to nature. For the true environmentalist, some research is in order before disposing of old tires. Since tire recycling rules change from state to state, look at the requirements of your state. Most states have online reports showing the usage of scrap tires.