Buckle up because you’re about to discover a topic that might make you seriously angry. Tires are everywhere! In cars, trucks, bikes, motorcycles, and planes. And yet, almost nobody talks about their massive problems. Like the fact that 6 million tons of toxic particles are generated every year worldwide from tire wear. This represents a genuine health and environmental catastrophe on a massive scale. Because with tires we’re dealing with silent killers that contaminate our air, water, and food. So why the deafening silence? Maybe because an industry worth $180 billion a year is doing everything it can to bury the topic. These are all the points we’re going to try to understand throughout this piece.

Electric cars make tire pollution worse

Electric cars are often presented as an eco-friendly miracle solution. But there’s a problem that’s frequently forgotten. It’s the weight of the batteries. Because these behemoths weighing several hundred pounds make electric vehicles 10 to 30% heavier than their gas-powered equivalents. Now, the heavier a vehicle is, the faster its tires wear out. The result is that electric car tires wear out on average 20% faster than those on conventional vehicles. The direct consequence of this accelerated wear is that electric vehicles generate between 20 to 26% more tire particle emissions than gas-powered cars.

Starting to see the problem? We’re making one pollution source worse. For example, an electric car can weigh up to 1,675 pounds more than its gas-powered equivalent. And those extra hundreds of pounds literally crush the tires against the pavement. This releases even more toxic particles into the environment. On top of that, with the instant torque from electric motors that deliver all their power from the first second, we’re increasing premature wear even more. So the transition to electric won’t solve the pollution emissions problem if we don’t seriously tackle the tire issue. But by the way, what’s really in a tire?

Tire composition is a toxic secret

Think you know what’s in your tires? Nothing could be less certain! A tire is roughly 40 to 60% natural and synthetic rubber, 20 to 35% carbon black, up to 28% aromatic oil, a steel reinforcement structure, heavy metals like zinc, cadmium, lead, and copper, and 5 to 15% chemical additives. Presented like that, it might seem okay at first. But the problem starts as soon as we dig into the chemical additives aspect. Because in this area we’re actually talking about hundreds of different substances. And here’s the scandal: tire manufacturers aren’t required to disclose all their ingredients. As a result, there are hundreds of different formulas and each manufacturer jealously guards its secret recipes because the exact formulation of tires is considered proprietary. So nobody really knows what goes into their manufacture.

Pretty appalling, right? We’re driving on a chemical cocktail whose exact composition we don’t know. And what little we do know gives us serious cause for concern. Like for example the fact that there’s zinc, lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, and vanadium. In short, nothing but heavy metals that are super harmful to health. We also find polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, the famous PAHs, which are recognized carcinogens. There’s also 6PPD, we’ll come back to that later because it’s the worst of all. Not to mention benzothiazoles, phthalates, sulfenamides, guanidines, and thiazoles. Should I keep going or have you gotten the gist of what kind of ingredient goes into tire composition?

PAH concentration can reach 300 to 700 milligrams per kilogram in the oils used. But it’s not over because some degradation products of these chemicals are even more toxic than the original compounds. In other words, when the tire wears out and these substances break down on contact with air and sunlight, they become even more dangerous than they already were. Now, the real question is: Where does all this poison end up?

Tires massively pollute oceans and waterways

Get ready because the numbers are staggering. Tires are the second largest global source of microplastic pollution, right after single-use plastics. Every year, 200,000 tons of particles end up in seas and oceans around the world. To give you an idea of the scale of the problem, between 5 and 10% of all plastics present in marine waters come from tire wear. But if we look specifically at primary microplastics, meaning those that are directly emitted as tiny particles rather than coming from the degradation of larger pieces, there we actually reach 28%! So more than a quarter of all this invisible pollution ravaging marine life comes from our tires.

But how can it get there? It’s simple to understand. When you drive, your tires wear out and particles fall onto the road. In urban areas equipped with stormwater collection systems, these particles are carried by rain into the sewers. The problem is that in many cities, this stormwater is discharged directly into rivers without any treatment. In cities where they’re treated at wastewater treatment plants, 35% of particles still pass through the filters without being retained. As a result, they end up in agricultural irrigation water and even in drinking water. But it’s even worse on country roads, highways, and all areas without water collection systems. There, 100% of particles go directly into nature as soon as it rains, into ditches, fields, forests, and waterways. Overall, 82% of all particles emitted by tires end up in aquatic environments.

But the real nightmare is a specific chemical called 6PPD-quinone. 6PPD is an additive added to virtually all tires to prevent them from cracking. The problem is that when 6PPD is exposed to atmospheric ozone, it transforms into 6PPD-quinone. This substance is a deadly poison for certain fish. It kills for example between 40 and 90% of the coho salmon population that spawns in West Coast American waterways. And for decades, scientists wondered why these salmon were dying massively after rains. But a 2020 study solved the mystery by identifying 6PPD-quinone present in tire particles carried by runoff as responsible for this slaughter.

This highly toxic product is also lethal for rainbow trout, brook trout, Arctic char, and white sturgeon. We’re talking about acute mortality even at minute concentrations. Other aquatic species aren’t spared either. Particles cause cellular damage, hormonal disruptions, weakened immune systems, and ultimately death. Water is therefore massively contaminated, but for the air we breathe it’s even worse.

Tire particles in the air are an invisible killer

Without even realizing it, you may have just inhaled tire particles. Because between 3 and 7% of all PM2.5 air pollution comes from tire wear. PM2.5 are those particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter that penetrate deep into your lungs. And it’s impossible to escape because a car emits 1 trillion particles smaller than 100 nanometers per mile traveled. Yes you read that right: One trillion per mile!

These ultrafine particles are so tiny that they do what larger particles can’t do. Meaning they cross lung tissue to pass into the bloodstream. They can even cross the blood-brain barrier to reach the brain. And the consequences are multiple because studies suggest links with heart problems, lung problems, developmental issues, reproductive problems, and cancers. Laboratory research has also demonstrated oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in lung tissues exposed to tire particles.

But hold on tight because here’s the most shocking number: In 2021, 52% of all particulate pollution from road transport came from tires and brakes. More than half! Exhaust pipes now pollute less than tires. The State of Global Air 2024 report (2021 data) even indicates 8.1 million annual deaths, making air pollution the second leading risk factor for death worldwide. And everything suggests that tire wear significantly contributes to this global health burden.

A standard tire loses between 3.3 and 6.6 pounds of rubber over its entire lifespan. On an average car with tires that last 25,000 miles, that represents about 322 milligrams of particles per mile. But this number varies enormously depending on several factors: vehicle weight (electric SUVs can emit 710-970 mg/mile), driving style (sporty or smooth), tire softness (a sport tire wears faster than a hardened long-life tire), and especially road surface quality. Because a road surface made of granular tar or concrete abrades tires much more quickly than smooth asphalt, which greatly increases particle emissions for equal mileage. It may seem like little but when you multiply by the number of vehicles on Earth, you understand the scale of the disaster. So the air is polluted, water is polluted… and now guess what? By force of circumstance our food too 🙁

Tire residues contaminate our food

Yes, you read that right. There are tire residues in your salad. A study from the University of Vienna demonstrated that chemical additives from tires are absorbed by vegetable roots and accumulate in the leaves we eat. Researchers tested hydroponic lettuce by adding a bit of tire particles and the result is unequivocal: All the chemical compounds tested were absorbed by the plants. All of them, without exception, including the infamous 6PPD and its toxic derivative 6PPD-quinone.

This same University of Vienna study measured actual concentrations in leafy vegetables grown in Switzerland and Israel: 238 nanograms per kilogram of benzothiazole and 0.4 nanograms per kilogram of 6PPD. Depending on diet, this exposes each person to an involuntary daily intake of 12 to 1,296 nanograms of benzothiazole and 0.06 to 2.6 nanograms of 6PPD. This poses a very big problem because no safety threshold has been established for these substances in food. So we’re ingesting tire additives daily without knowing at what dose they become dangerous to our health. But how do these nasty things get into our vegetables? Through irrigation water obviously! Because as we saw earlier, tire particles contaminate freshwater sources and agricultural soils. And as a result, chemical additives end up absorbed by plant roots.

But that’s not all! 6PPD and 6PPD-quinone have been detected in the urine of 150 people tested in southern China, including children, adults, and pregnant women. Pregnant women actually showed the highest concentrations. So we literally have tire residues in our bodies. So if it’s confirmed that humans are contaminated, what about the rest of life?

Tires destroy wildlife and plants

The impact obviously doesn’t stop with humans and fish. It’s the whole ecosystem that’s getting hammered hard. Let’s start with soils. Tire particles contaminate soils and destroy essential organisms like microbes and worms. Now these bacteria and worms are precisely the ones that aerate the earth and create the nutrients that plants need to grow. And when these organisms disappear, the soil becomes more compact and less effective at retaining water.

Plants themselves are therefore directly affected. Because tire particles reduce root and shoot growth in many crops like mung beans, soybeans, leeks, and wheat. So our food crops grow less well because of tires. And regarding marine life, we already talked about it. But we need to go further. Because particles also contaminate marine copepods which are tiny crustaceans at the base of the entire ocean food chain. So if you kill copepods, you kill everything that feeds on them, then everything that feeds on what feeds on them… and so on all the way to the top of the food chain. And the higher you go up the chain, the more the concentration increases. And in the end, guess who ends up with the highest dose?

Burning tires is a health and environmental catastrophe

A burning tire is straight-up chemical apocalypse. Because when a tire catches fire, it releases a cocktail of highly toxic substances. Among other poisons we find dioxins, furans, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, hydrogen chloride, and benzene. Not to mention a whole range of heavy metals like cadmium, nickel, zinc, mercury, chromium, and vanadium.

The measured pollution level is beyond comprehension. One study for example measured an average PM10 concentration of 280 micrograms per cubic meter during 24 hours of combustion, which is 7 times higher than the ambient air measured at the same location before the fire. Total PAH concentration reached 2,918 micrograms per cubic meter. Sulfur dioxide emissions exceeded EPA standards by 3 times. It’s absolutely tragic.

A tire fire easily reaches temperatures exceeding 1,830°F. So using water or foam to extinguish it is often completely useless because the only effective solution is to cover the tires with dirt or sand. And the worst part of all this is that some tire fires have burned continuously for months. Like for example in 1983 in Virginia where a fire of 7 million tires generated a smoke plume 2,950 feet high that spread over 50 miles. The fire burned for 9 months contaminating all surrounding water sources with lead and arsenic. In the end, people involuntarily exposed to large amounts of dioxins and furans developed chloracne (a horrible skin disease), as well as liver problems and elevated blood lipids.

So this needs to be crystal clear. Until the tire composition problem is solved, we at least need to avoid stupidly making the problem worse. Because protesting is a fundamental right and being angry about injustice is legitimate and even necessary. But burning tires during protests is criminal for the environment, it’s dangerous for your health and for others. So if you want to fight for a just cause don’t destroy the planet doing it because there are other ways to make yourself heard. Meanwhile, if burning tires is very bad can we at least let them decompose?

Abandoned tires pollute for centuries

Bad news, it’s not really better! Because a standard tire takes between 50 and 80 years to decompose under typical landfill conditions. Fifty to eighty years is already huge. But some studies suggest that certain types of tires could take up to 2,000 years to completely decompose. Two thousand years! Your car’s tire will still be there when your great-great-great-great-grandchildren have been gone for a long time.

How many tires are currently lying around the planet? Four billion used tires are piled up in landfills and stockpiles around the world, including 2 billion in the United States alone. And all this time, they don’t just sit there inert waiting to decompose. A tire abandoned in the sun releases methane into the atmosphere, which is a greenhouse gas much more powerful than CO2. The heavy metals and chemicals they contain gradually leach out and contaminate soils as well as groundwater.

Simply placing tires on the ground for an extended period is enough to eradicate beneficial soil bacteria, which prevents plants from growing properly. So those clever Pinterest and Insta ideas for transforming old tires into planters are better forgotten. There’s also another major problem that isn’t talked about enough. Abandoned tires become perfect breeding centers for mosquitoes because they collect rainwater and create little stagnant pools that are ideal for their larvae. The result is a proliferation of diseases like West Nile virus, dengue, malaria, and encephalitis.

In Europe, 95% of end-of-life tires are collected for recycling, which seems encouraging on paper. But let’s dig a bit into what “recycling” really means. In reality, 55% are transformed into recoverable material and 40% are burned for energy recovery. In other words, nearly half still end up as fuel for cement plants and other polluting industries. The rest is ground into rubber granules used for synthetic sports fields, children’s playground surfaces, or mixed with asphalt. The problem is that these uses just disperse toxic particles elsewhere. Sports fields made from tire rubber are increasingly controversial for their health risks. There are also huge disparities between European countries, some reaching 90% recycling while others cap at 60%. And some even think about recycling tires into construction materials. Which poses other problems we’re going to look at now.

Using tires in construction presents toxic risks

Earthships use tires filled with earth as building material. On paper, it seems clever because you’re reusing and avoiding landfills. But in the field, it’s much more complicated than that because tires don’t lose their toxicity once buried in a wall and continue to release toxic substances into indoor air. For example, carbon black that gradually escapes is classified as a known carcinogen by NIOSH. Zinc oxide meanwhile can be inhaled as particles and cause chills, fever, chest tightness, and coughing.

Specialists in green building and indoor air quality are unanimous: you should not use tires for residential construction. Why? Because over time, gas emissions cross the layers of earth and plasters supposed to isolate them. These volatile substances don’t stay nicely blocked behind your wall, they end up gradually migrating through porous materials. And this emission will continue for years. Moreover, wall coverings can also degrade over time, letting tire particles escape both inside and outside. Result: your supposedly eco-friendly house contaminates your indoor air and your vegetable garden.

And it’s not just theoretical or hypothetical. Because several people have developed allergies they didn’t have before living in Earthships. Some moved and recovered their health after some time. Coincidence? Maybe, or maybe not. But some countries have outright banned the use of tires in buildings. In Belgium for example, Earthship builders now use earthbags instead of used tires. These are bags that you fill with earth. But watch out! Polypropylene bags (plastic) are hardly better than tires from an ecological standpoint. On the other hand, bags made of natural fibers like hemp or jute canvas are an excellent alternative. But their implementation requires a particular technique. We’re actually preparing a detailed technical sheet on this topic for NovaFuture’s green building section.

At NovaFuture, our position is clear and we apply the precautionary principle. Tires are highly toxic, so why take any risk of contaminating your home? Especially since it’s the place where you spend a third of your life and where your children grow up. When healthy alternatives exist and they work very well. So use them rather than taking unnecessary risks. Now, with all these scientifically proven and widely documented dangers, what is the tire industry doing?

The tire industry escapes all regulation thanks to lobbies

We’re getting to the heart of the scandal and the real question that stings. Why isn’t anything moving despite all this damning evidence? The answer is simple and it comes down to one word: money! The global tire industry is worth $180 billion a year. One hundred and eighty billion! No need to specify that with that kind of financial means you can influence a lot of political decisions and block quite a few inconvenient regulations.

Tire manufacturers have intensified their lobbying with European Union legislators who are considering stricter regulations on tire wear. But why so much effort to block these regulations? Because they could cost them billions in product redesign costs. Their tactics are actually pretty creative to stay polite. For example, the European tire manufacturers’ lobby commissioned a study that conveniently concludes that most tire particles never end up in rivers and oceans. These people were really born before shame existed!

But it goes even further! They hired a consulting firm specializing in defending companies against chemical exposure accusations. Two former employees of this firm stated under cover of anonymity something revealing. I quote: “If we found something that would give our client a bad image, we wouldn’t publish it”. You read that right, rigged studies to protect tire industry profits.

The result of all this lobbying? There is no specific regulation on tire wear rates and oversight of chemicals used in their production is extremely limited. None of the existing regulations directly address the contribution of tire wear particles to environmental degradation. If we compare this to what comes out of exhaust pipes we can say there’s a double standard. Because exhaust pipe emissions have been extensively studied and are ultra-regulated for decades. On the other hand, tire and brake emissions are much more difficult to measure and control, so we let them escape all regulation.

Meanwhile, 3 billion new tires are produced every year worldwide and this number is only increasing. But a few timid actions are starting to emerge here and there. Like for example with the environmental advocacy group Earthjustice which filed a notice of intent to sue tire manufacturers for violating the Endangered Species Act due to the use of 6PPD. There’s also a new California law that now requires tire manufacturers to explore alternatives to harmful additives like 6PPD. But on a global scale, or even federal? Nothing at all.

Conclusion – It’s high time to act!

We’re not saying we need to go back to wooden wheels. We’re not idiots advocating a return to the Stone Age and we know very well that tires are necessary for transportation. What we’re simply denouncing is the total absence of environmental effort from a sector that poisons the planet with complete impunity. And also that the tire sector isn’t held to any control over its product composition when it’s a major public health issue.

So if you too think we can no longer let this slide under silence, don’t hesitate to massively share this article around you and make it circulate on all your social networks. Because the more of us there are talking about it and relaying the information, the harder it will be for the industry and politicians to ignore the problem and continue acting as if nothing happened. Silence kills, so let’s all be media outlets on our own scale.

And to finish, this piece took a lot of time to develop. So if it was useful to you thanks for taking a few seconds to support the site by buying us a coffee. And if you want to react, you’re welcome in the comments section below. See you soon for new adventures that we hope will be more cheerful.