WOW! Have you guys heard of this????

[bruehlt]

yup, basically ... but now-a-days they make them out of synthetic petroleum products ...

anyway, unless you burn the tires, they basically just sit there and do nothing

surprsingly (to me) they get used as fuel for various commercial applications

the rest end up taking a lot of space. the biggest hazard is non-commercial burning of tires. the fire releases the chemicals in them and people have to be evacuated. worse, burned rubber decomposes into oil and contaminates the soil and ground water.

their second "harzard" is that tires can create environments for mosquitos and other pests to breed, causing problems down the road.

finally, there are just so many of them (and so many more are discarded each day) that the space and money it takes to keep them somewhere (usually landfills) adds up pretty fast.

Yep - and vulcanization is irreversible. Although, there is a company that is working on that. Whomever finds the secret of de-vulcanization will get the keys to the castle!

 

[FredT]

A tire is complex construct, and as such is a bit difficult to recycle.
The issue is the steel wire in them, and the synthetic cords.
They can be chopped and ground, and baked to break down the rubber into a high sulfur fuel, but the miscellaneous bits do make handling more expensive than it's worth. Disassembly into wire bead, sidewall and belted tread may help the issue.

Perhaps ocean dumping into a subduction zone, or slow sacrifice to Pele?

FT

 

[Don Burke]

It sounded like a good idea at the time.

The big problem under even the best of conditions is the the flexible surface does not attract as much encrustation as something like concrete. That makes tire reefs more like fish attractors than fish producers.

If the tires break loose, it gets even worse. Later on, they went to TICs (Tire In Concrete units), which solved the breakaway problems.

The bundled tires (no concrete) have been a problem wherever I have seen them.

As an addition to stable artificial reefs, TICs are not a problem. However, they are not much of a solution either.

TICs in the sand around something like the Oriskany might accomplish something, but I doubt you could get permission to put them there.

Look up the interesting results from dumping cars in the ocean if you want to see a disaster. The good news about them is that they rust away.

 

[DaytonaDave]

Does anyone know if there's a volunteer program for the cleanup?

 

[shellig]

Can I just say this...this is an interesting thread and I am glad I read it. Would gladly help in recovery if I am able...but could we please be a little more descriptive in the headers for threads! I would bet a lot of people did NOT read the thread because the description is so generic.
My 2 psi

 

[cdiver2]

I could be wrong, but I believe there is a chemical breakdown that is harmful.

I think its zinc. I was going to use rubber mulch ( old tire's ) in the yard but after a INTERNET search I found out there is a problem with zinc leaching out and killing plants.

 

[brutus_scuba]

Does anyone know if there's a volunteer program for the cleanup?

This sounds like a good project. If I could work out a cost effective way to get down there spend a week or two I would definatly be willing to help out. I mean ther has to be some enviormental movement that could raise money to cover air for divers to work on this and gas for boats or whatever, and hunt for volunteers from SB and other places to help at least get some of this taken care of.

 

[TyWench]

I would be willing to help out any volunteer effort! My only dive experience is all in South Florida, and I had no idea it was out there..

As far as any toxins released by the tires, I'm sure when the project began they didn't think there were any dangers. But, I just learned that there are studies showing that the plastic bottles we use for all our "healthy" bottled water may be releasing carcinogens - so isn't it entirely possible that tires are just as lethal to our oceans and we just don't know it yet?

I've only been on SB for a few days, but the discussions are so thought-provoking! I'm been learning tons! I already feel like I'm a smarter diver! :umnik:

Thanks for making my brain work!!
Karen

 

[plot]

I've only been on SB for a few days, but the discussions are so thought-provoking! I'm been learning tons! I already feel like I'm a smarter diver! :umnik:

Thanks for making my brain work!!
Karen

Welcome to SB, being a smart diver is a good start, just don't get cocky and overstep your boundaries under the water

 

[DaytonaDave]

.....I mean ther has to be some enviormental movement that could raise money to cover air for divers to work on this and gas for boats or whatever, and hunt for volunteers from SB and other places to help at least get some of this taken care of.

I'm in...where do we start?