With 2 billion tyres produced globally every year, research is calling for urgent action to be taken to tackle tyre pollution.
Tyre wear creates airborne particulate matter that can have negative health impacts on humans. As tyres degrade, they release a range of particles, from visible pieces of tyre rubber to nanoparticles.
Every year, billions of vehicles worldwide shed an estimated six million tonnes of tyre-wear particles. These tiny flakes of plastic, generated by the wear and tear of normal driving, eventually accumulate in the soil, in rivers and lakes, and even in our food.
In London alone, 2.6 million vehicles emit around nine thousand tonnes of tyre-wear particles annually. Many researchers have been carrying out studies into the scale of the problem, including a recent international study in which a number of researchers have collaborated to call for tyre particles to be classified as a unique pollution category.
The study – ‘Priorities to inform research on tire particles and...