Circular Economy: Tyres

Unlike the linear economy, the circular economy is a closed-loop economic system that focuses on reducing wastage and longevity of products. Almost all of the major tyre companies are now shifting their model circular economy mainly because millions of tons of used tyres are discarded as waste every year. The tyre replacement sector has more market share than the originally produced tyre. Thus, there is an increasing number of opportunities to use tyre-derived materials, creating new businesses and jobs, thus increasing GDP. Circular economy calls for revamping the entire life cycle of a tyre. The first idea is farfetched: biodegradable tyres, so we shift to the other idea, which is finding new technology. This can include finding rubber substitutes or design changes like we saw in the case of the shift to tubeless tyres. Companies are working on airless tyres as well. These days, the entire design perspective has shifted to incorporating green ideas from production to the final product. As a result, numerous steps are being taken to make tyres so that repair and remanufacturing become easier. Truck tyres, for instance, are usually designed to be retreaded up to three times. Rethreading diminishes roughly 160 kg of waste for each tire. However, this requires cooperation across the entire supply chain. The demand for tyres will keep increasing in the future because of the budding electric car market, but the supply will keep decreasing due to raw materials being scarce. This model will keep a check on the demand-supply equilibrium by ensuring continuous supply. One obstacle that prevents us from achieving this is that the GDP index doesn’t consider social and environmental externalities, discouraging value creation in both these areas.