Unexpected Health & Environmental Hazards of Used Tyres Accumulation
Muscat Municipality has recently observed the accumulations of used tires next to tyre shops. The practice has stimulated institutional efforts to address such unregulated practices due to their potential of distorting the overall aesthetic appearance of modern urban cities, in addition to the environmental and health risks such practices bring.
Accumulation of tyres in one location rises the likelihood of catching fires, especially in industrial areas where people use petrol, flammable gases and welding machines. If tyres get burned, it will lead to the spread of toxic fumes and gases, which poisons the air and affects its quality.
In this regard, Muscat Municipality enacted local orders and legislation that will work to promote public health and environmental health, where the local order (1/2006) on Public Health referred to in Article (6), which states "every building owner is obliged to take measures to maintain the cleanliness and to dispose of waste in a hygienic manner". Article (13) also clarified that: "owners of car service shops (oil change and tire repair), workshop owners and car wash shops are prohibited from spreading oils, liquids or residues resulting from their activities on the floors, and they must transport them to the designated sites."
Article (11) also stated that: "it is prohibited for any person to dump, leave, put, liquefy, excrete or burn any waste in public places or dispose of it in other than the disposal sites specified by the municipality, and it is prohibited in particular to dump waste in the land space, whether it is fenced or unfenced, open squares and wadies, as well as throwing trees, furniture or large appliances and the like next to garbage collection containers and must be disposed of in accordance with the rules and periods specified by the municipality."
At a time when the problem of accumulation of used car tyres worsens day by day, there is a real serious need to take measures and programs that would achieve the actual added value of used car tyres, urging the public to boost efforts in recycling the tyres to be used in turfs, house tiles, and gardens, which may constitute a promising future for companies operating in this sector.