Disposal of used car tires is a service offered by most tire companies, but what about bicycle tires?Capital Bicycle of Annapolis sells about 10,000 tubes a year. Multiply that by all the bike shops in the country and you're talking some serious rubber.
According to Parker Jones of Capital Bicycle, recycling old tubes "is not as easy as it should be." Bike shops and clubs all agree there is a need for recycling, but no clear 'how', at least not here in DC.
A few years ago, Specialized set up a tire and tube recycling program to help shops get started. Capital Bicycle in Annapolis was the first shop in the country to utilize this program.
Anyone can stop in Capital Bicycle and drop off used bicycle tubes and tires free of charge. The shop then sends the collected tubes and tires to a local company that grinds them up and reuses them.
Shredded, recycled tires can be used as cushioning in playgrounds, as an alternative to concrete for sidewalks, or even mixed with asphalt to fill the crack that caused the flat in the first place. Now that's the rubber hitting the road!
Capital Bicycle also sends tubes to Alchemy Goods, a company that turns them into belts, wallets, and messenger bags.
Larry Black of Mt. Airy Bikes is a huge supporter of reusing old tubes. "We patch tubes, thousands of them. We use them for our own bikes and you should too," says Black.
One bicycle tube can run between five and eight dollars. A patch kit can repair up to six flats for under three bucks. It just makes sense. Good cents.
Jill DiMauro owner of Proteus in College Park agrees, "you can always carry the patched tube as a spare." Proteus saves old tubes for a local doctor who uses them for physical therapy exercises in nursing homes.
If you can't patch it, be creative. Mt. Airy uses old tubes as tool grips, rubber bands, and make shift bungee cords.
Black stresses, "A worthy project would be to get people not to throw tubes 'away'. There is no away."
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