10 Useful Things to do with Seemingly 'Useless' Tyres
In attempting to use old rubbish in our construction projects at Ka'Way Monti, Earth-Ship style, we started looking around the Ancash region of Peru for old unused tyres. “There must be a place that all tyres are put once they're worn out and un-fit for use on the road”, we thought. We looked around for a long time to no avail, until eventually we found the answer. A neighbour friend told us, “Where do we put old tyres? Well, in the river, of course!”.... Aha. This unfortunate answer explains precisely why we were having no luck in finding one centralised dump of tyres to collect.
While putting old tyres in the river is one (not-recommended) way of dealing with the waste, there are many more USEFUL, CREATIVE, INGENIOUS ways to put old tyres to use. Upcycling, if you will... Here are some ideas that I have come across throughout Latin America:
1. Shoes. It is very common in rural areas of Peru and Bolivia to wear sandals made out of tyres, and they're some of the most durable sandals I've ever seen. A French artisan friend tried them out, and said that after an initial excruciating few weeks of blisters as the shoe rubber shaped to her feet, they then become the hardiest, longest-lasting and most comfortable sandals she had ever owned. Along the same lines, any shoe sole can be made from old tyres, and is guaranteed to last much longer than your average sole.
2. Steps. Filled with compressed earth, and layered in the form of a stairway up a slope, old tyres can create land barriers, preventing earth from eroding into a slippery ledge. This is especially useful for trails leading up steep scree/dusty/sandy slopes in rural neighbourhoods, for example.
3. Planters. Tyres can make great vegetable planters, either placed flat on the ground or piled up into a tower. To maximise the yield of a potato harvest, keep piling up the tyres and the soil as the potato grows. [It should be taken into account that as the tyre rubber decomposes, certain toxic chemicals are let off into the soil... it is questionable whether or not these chemicals enter into the potato/whatever you are growing, and then go into our bodies as we eat the harvest. Do your own research and make your own decisions before trying this at home!]
4. Gate hinges. It is more than once that I've seen rickety wooden gates held together and onto their fence-frame with the help of a section of used tyre and a few nails. Either a slice of an old-tyre, or an old shoe sole can make a simple, cheap, effective, and almost-elegant door-hinge.
5. Hanging decorations. In Mexico, I came across these wonderful pelican-bird creations. They appear pretty simple to make, if you cut the tyre in the correct way and have a flair for painting. They could just be decoration, or you could fill them with soil and plant lovely living-things in them!
6. Child-friendly swings. While bike-touring rural Mexico, I found a tyre-swing fit just for a miniature child-sized bottom. Again, made beautiful with a layer of colourful paint.
7. Door-Mats. Gracing the entrance of the park ranger's doorway in Cajon Grande National Park, Chile, I chanced upon this great door mat. Slices of tyre bound together create a simple, hardy, and effective design.
8. Playgrounds. Half-buried tyres that are then painted colourful tones make up many an edge of children's playgrounds, forming a type of leapfrog or climbing game for the little'uns.
9. Edges of Raised Beds. Similar to the playground idea above, tyres that are half buried with no air gaps between them (nestle the tyres shoulder-to-shoulder as you bury them) can successfully hold in soil to create raised beds in your garden. [Again, pay heed to the warning of chemicals let off from the rubber-decomposition, as mentioned above].
10.Belts. This one is better made from old bicycle tyres. Cut the perpendicular edges off of both sides, leaving the main part that would touch the ground when used as a tyre. Size it to your waist, sew on a buckle (you will need very strong thread, such as dental floss), and hey-presto, you have yourself an extremely durable belt.
