Dive Brief:
- A non-profit group based in Detroit, MI collects discarded tires found around the city and recycles the waste into footwear. The group has its choice of tires from the 35,000 picked up annually by Cass Community Social Services.
- Detroit Treads employs 80 workers who use materials from the tires to create the sandals.
- In addition to the tire sandals, the non-profit also creates rubber mats made from undesirable components of the tires, and shreds and recycles over 100 tons of newspapers and paper each year.
Dive Insight:
Tires, tires, everywhere. Several groups are trying to figure out what to do with the mountains of rubber across the United States. Nebraska awarded $1.9 million to applicants who are working to recycle or repurpose tires.
A new tire recycling plant opened in Texas on May 5. The facility is equipped to handle 10 million tires annually, breaking down the tires and selling the materials to scrap companies. These components are then used to make asphalt, flooring and injection molding.
Colorado announced in May that it would end subsidies for tire recyclers; the state is now making moves to close tire landfills by 2018, removing the 60 million tires from the sites. Some businesses have been recycling the materials as fuel, ground cover and filler for roads.