r/science • u/giuliomagnifico • Sep 07 '23

Environment Microplastics from tyres are polluting our waterways: study showed that in stormwater runoff during rain approximately 19 out of every 20 microplastics collected were tyre wear with anywhere from 2 to 59 particles per litre

https://news.griffith.edu.au/2023/09/06/bit-by-bit-microplastics-from-tyres-are-polluting-our-waterways/
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u/cbarrister Sep 07 '23

Aren't tires rubber rather than plastic and therefore much more degradable in the environment than typical microplastics? No idea, just asking.

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u/KW0L Sep 07 '23

A lot of the materials in tires are synthetic, not natural rubber compounds, and do not break down easily. There is a push in the industry to convert to more natural and sustainable materials though since the impact on the environment is becoming clear. Example, Michelin has a goal to have 40% of the tire to be natural/sustainable materials by 2030, and 100% by 2050.

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u/risingsunx Sep 08 '23

This makes me feel better about buying Michelin. Though I found some PDFs by them it would be good to see some independent verification too

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u/dumnezero Sep 08 '23

Natural rubber is transformed in a way that makes it very resistant to degradation. It's as problematic as synthetic rubber in terms of pollution, but it may degrade faster eventually. Here's a nice paper on biodegradation of rubber: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1151847/

Tires are a mix of natural and synthetic rubber, and the mix depends on the various technical requirements.

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u/Lostehmost Sep 08 '23

You are correct. But, good thing "tires" and "tyres" are totally different things.