grinding tires for mulch???

[cc-rider]

My son thinks he wants to buy a machine to grind tires up to be used for playground mulch. But no clue where to even start looking. There is a huge facility a couple hours from here that does it, but he's afraid that they won't give him any information for fear of competition (which is understandable).

Any ideas what a machine would be called? Or where to find information on whether the ground tires are environmentally safe to use?

Do you know anyone that does this?

[COWS]

A good many years ago the state of SC experimented with using chipped up tires for mulch around plants at Interstate highway rest stops, in some areas. Don't know the results, you might find something on SC government web pages. I wasn't impressed with the concept, like what do you do when you want to get rid of the tire mulch and replace it?

There was an attempt near me to build a tire grinder, I think to provide fuel for a power plant. Don't know why they had to grind them up, transportatiopn problems maybe. Anyway, the sticking point from the environmental objectors was that the chiping process would generate a lot of dust, etc. Project dropped. Point is, getting the machine might not be the biggest problem son will face.

COWS

[VinnyP]

Don't know anyone who does it. Did a search for "tire hammer mill" and came-up with this:

http://www.americanrecycler.com/june2003/spotlight.html

[farminghandyman]

do a search for Tire shredder

[foxtrapper]

The shredding machine isn't the issue. The market is. Generally speaking, it was filled over a decade ago, and most have gone bust. There is a reason.

Steel vs non-steel is the biggest issue with the shredded tires. Cement plants want the steel cords, playgrounds do not. Separation is important.

Tires and shreds need to be washed, but that's usually inherent with most of the machines.

[Micheal]

If'n I remember correctly NYS tried a shredded tire and asphalt mix on a section of the NY Thruway years back. Couldn't have worked out to well, cause as far as I know that one shot was the end of it......
Besides, wouldn't shredded tires have a continuous leaching problem anyway?

[fireweed farm]

I saw homedepot selling it in bags. Sorry but what a horrible idea! Imagine it getting kicked into the veggies patch or on the lawn, having to pick it all up or having the lawn mower shooting it out, or worse bagging it for compost.
It is littering and nothing less.

[opportunity]

My husband and his brother though this would be a wonderful addition to the family junkyard and recycling business. Turns out that you spend more money getting tires then they sell for shredded and the few people who started doing it have their equipment paid off now so there was no way to be competitive in the market. (they looked at three locations and all had a major plant already serving the areas)

[fishhead]

Originally Posted by Micheal

If'n I remember correctly NYS tried a shredded tire and asphalt mix on a section of the NY Thruway years back. Couldn't have worked out to well, cause as far as I know that one shot was the end of it......
Besides, wouldn't shredded tires have a continuous leaching problem anyway?

I think one reason why we aren't seeing roads built from recycled tires is that bituminous is an oil industry product and they have far more lobbyists than common sense ideas.

[foxtrapper]

There are problems with tire shreds in road surfaces, having to do with sizing and wear mostly. Tire shreds are frequently used as a constituent in underlayment for roadbeds.

[edcopp]

Send him to the community development office in your county. They have people on the payroll who will help him. Your tax dollars at work.

[Robotron]

Canada uses the shredded tire/asphalt mice on their roads. Works very well and lasts longer than conventional mix. Here in Michigan it was banned, the road builders push that by saying roads would last too long. So much for the " best practices " part of life.

[theemon]

just fyi, does he know there are steal belts in tires? theres a few parks around here with tire mulch, it clearly says DO NOT WALK IN BARE FEET, may contain metal fibers...


just saying

[sisterpine]

I seriously am considering building part of my next house out of packed tires and I thought maybe cutting out one sidewall would make them easier to pack with dirt. DB told me that would be a real expensive way to go due to the steel belts eating up the sawsall blades etc.

[Bret]

My dad told me that when I started buying my own tires, I wouldn't do that to them. He was so right, of course.

[joebill]

I believe there is a fairly simple machine for cutting out sidewalls. I saw one at an industrial show years ago, and I see gigantic tarps for covering hay that have sidewalls attached all over to keep them from blowing away, so they cut them out somehow. As to aquiring tires, tire shops charge if you don't take them with you, so I'd say you can get them for the cost of picking them up. We actually like the mulch in flower beds, but what do we know?....Joe

[Bandit]

Mulch from tires ?
I don't like the fact that some companies make there mulch from used pallets .
They fact that they could of had chemicals spilled on them comes to mind .
( Gosh , We Just had a pile of batteries fall over and spill acid on a pallet , do we call Haz Mat or just throw down some speedy dri and throw the pallet on the pile for the Pallet Recycling Guy ? )

[Joshie]

Some schools use ground tires because they get them cheaply from the government. I would never have ground tire mulch. The two main issues I see with them is that they're dangerous for latex allergic people like my daughter and they are dirty. Ground tires are well known for permanently staining clothing.