As the disposal of scrap tyres in landfills has proven to pose a negative impact to the environment which not only taking up a great deal of space within a landfill, but their process of decomposing has created a wide variety of issues that have made their disposal in landfills unfeasible and in many regions and thus, banned. The process of bubbling of trapped methane gas has been linked to increased mosquito and other insect breeding which increases the risk of the disease spreading, contamination of both underground and above groundwater systems, as well as chemically destroying many beneficial bacteria that grow in the soil within and surrounding a landfill.

The most obvious hazard associated with the uncontrolled disposal and accumulation of large amounts of tyres outdoors is the potential for large fires which are extremely detrimental to the environment. Once a large pile catches fire, it is very hard, if not impossible, to extinguish. The scrap tyre management should be regulated, monitored and enforcement intensified with penalties for non-compliance. There is a lack of exciting rewards for the industry to embark on recycling of scrap tyres. Little or no obvious initiatives are seen to encourage public or industry players on the importance of recycling of scrap tyres to protect the environment.

© Journal of the Society of Automotive Engineers Malaysia
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