Can old tires help alleviate landslides?

Question

A lot of mountains in the Philippines have been de-nuded of its forest and the people living aroung these mountains are currently feeling the negative effects of this recklessness.Year after year, these people constantly encounter problems of land and mud slides and there seems to be no solution.

As a country, we too have our problems with garbage, and disposing of old tires is one of them. This is why I have tried to think of a way of chaining tyres into a net which could be laid throughout the mountain's slope. With this we could also start replanting and maybe also help control soil erotion.

Answer 1

Good idea!

Yes that technique is being used in Sri Lanka by home owners to build and maintain steep roads leading up to their houses along mountain slopes.  Tires are stacked overlapping like laying bricks and each row or layer is filled in with dirt.  It makes a very good barrier, however, it can not be built too high. . .about a layer of five to six high with some back fill.

BTW I know the problem you are addressing in PI,  I am a regular visitor with 29 visits since October 1993 and have traveled extensively by jeepney on all the major land areas, have flown over islands and areas.  Leyte and parts of Mindanao are the worst effected by logging.