Can Rubber be recycled?

Question

What happens to it in a landfill?

Answer 1

unless you have a vanity problem..do what the Vietnamese have done forever...tear off the cloth tops, and make yourself flip-flops with the soles. then wear'em til they don't exist!..problem solved.

Answer 2

yes.  tires are often ground up and made into a new road paving material. tires are also used for other projects, but i don't think they can actually be melted down and reused, i think they either grind them or use them in bales

Answer 3

yes rubber can be recycled into a paving material and also a garden

and play ground mulch and flooring

www.rubbermulch.com/index.html

www.kieferfloors.com

Answer 4

Rubber is used for roads, playground cover, and more. Tennis shoes, unless totally useless, are probably best donated, not recycled.

Answer 5

Yes. rubber tyres are turned into road surface material (don't ask me how).  

Answer 6

Rubber can be melted down and made into new things yes.  

Answer 7

There are several companies that recycle rubber. The most common use has been in playground covers or sports fields. Nike recycles shoe rubber, Specialized bikes recycles bike tires and tubes and I've seen car tires used for soundproofing on walls.

Most tires aren't allowed to go into landfills, they are usually separated and stand for years in piles. We have had a couple of the large piles catch fire in CA and they can't put out the flames for months or years.

Answer 8

Don't know exactly.

Answer 9

I don't know.

Answer 10

If the rubber is vulcanized it cannot be truly recycled.  Vulcanized rubber (like in car tires) cannot be melted down and used again.  When they 'recycle' it, they're really downcycling it to a lower value product, such as asphalt or playground bedding.  Some 'recycled' tires are shredded and burned in coal plants.

Vulcanized rubber will last an extremely long time in a landfill (hundreds if not thousands of years).

Regular rubber, like in rubber bands, can be recycled, but it is rarely economical to do so.  Regular rubber will bread down if exposed to sunlight and air.  Since neither will be present in a landfill, it will take a very long time to break down as well (but not as long as vulcanized rubber).

Answer 11

It can be made into different products. Rubber can be turned into oil and gas products by heating without the presence of oxygen. Or it can be shredded and used for any number of surface applications. Power plants will combine the rubber with coal and burn them.  

Answer 12

i think unless its got spurm in it lolz xD