Every year, billions of vehicles worldwide shed an estimated 6 million tonnes of tyre fragments. 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. Researchers in South China recently found tyre-derived chemicals in most human urine samples.
These tyre particles are a significant but often-overlooked contributor to microplastic pollution. They account for 28% of microplastics entering the environment globally.
Despite the scale of the issue, tyre particles have flown under the radar. Often lumped in with other microplastics, they are rarely treated as a distinct pollution category, yet their unique characteristics demand a different approach.
