The Paradox of Car Tires, Issue #3
Ever since the introduction of pneumatic tires into cars, their use has become synonymous with every vehicle on the planet. It's such a vital part of any vehicle, yet it often gets unnoticed as people focus on the other forms of pollution caused by vehicles. With the boom in electric cars and seemingly every company coming out with their electric car, it seems likely that it will be more common on the streets. As the world continues to fight climate change, electric cars pose a paradoxical challenge as they “are 30 percent heavier on average than gas-powered vehicles, which causes the brakes and tire treads to wear out faster than standard cars and releases tiny, often toxic particles into the atmosphere.” This combined with the cost of production often makes people question whether or not electric cars are the right direction for the automotive industry to go towards.
The truth of the matter is that tires are a delicate subject and require years of research, testing and implementation to create not only sustainable and effective tires, but ones that will also reduce their environmental impact. Tires remain one of the most taxing parts of the car, with millions of tires being discarded annually as tires are the only point of contact for a car to stop or go. The problem with making tires biodegradable or more efficient is that “The tire industry often argues that improving one metric, like efficiency, means sacrificing another, such as durability or wet grip,” says Gunnlaugur Erlendsson, CEO of Enso, a startup tire company focused on optimizing for EVs. The idea of a biodegradable tire would be amazing as it reduces the amount of time it takes to break down and dispose of tires, rubbers that may take 50-80 years could be shortened, drastically improving the effect on landfills. On the contrary biodegradable tires could pose a handful of issues that impact performance and durability. “While the tire industry is increasingly exploring bio-based materials, such as natural rubber, tires themselves, and the pollution they generate, are not yet biodegradable,” says Erlendsson. An innovative take by Gary Guthrie, senior vice president at Michelin, is to focus on the “tire at the end of its life and make a new one from it because that is even better for the planet than being able just to put it on flower beds. That way, we don't have to take raw materials out of the Earth to make the tires in the first place.” Guthrie makes valid points as the tire industry is not always hyper-focused on making the best tires for the environment, but even more concerning is that it goes beyond just the tire manufacturers, but also the consumers. While tire pollution remains an ongoing caveat of all vehicles, poor consumer habits also play a role. Guthrie highlights that “many drivers remove their tires long before they legally need to.” In fact, “a staggering 50 percent of tires are removed before they hit 3-mm tread depth, let alone the 1.6-mm legal limit. This means 400 million tires are scrapped prematurely every year.”
Technology advances no matter what as the tire industry evolves and grows. The truth is that a better tire not only makes electric cars more effective but any vehicle. The core issue rests with the lack of incentive to change and improve an already brilliant design for tire companies. At the end of the day, the tire is an innovation that has served humanity for decades. To truly reduce the carbon footprint of every tire, there must be a perfect balance between safety, performance, and environmental impact.
