What Car? Q&A - Are my car's old tyres recycled?

Q: I've just had four new tyres put on my car. Will the old ones be recycled?
Phillip Denson, via e-mail

A: Since July 1 2003 it has been illegal to dispose of whole tyres in landfill sites. A ban on getting rid of shredded tyres at such sites will also come into effect from July 1 this year.

According to the Tyre Recovery Association, 'almost all tyres now go to some form of beneficial re-use'. Such second uses include fuelling cement kilns, or remanufacturing the rubber into carpet underlay and impact-absorbent sports and recreational surfaces.

Goodyear has partly addressed environmental issues by developing a tyre that uses renewable organic materials – derived from corn starch – to replace less eco-friendly elements of the tyre compound, such as silica and carbon black.

It claims the Goodyear GT3 tyre that uses this technology also reduces rolling resistance, improving fuel economy by up to 5%.