Worn out tires reach the end of their useful lives in huge numbers each year, and finding a second use for them is not easy. Researchers in Australia have been exploring whether old tires could go into road construction instead of landfill. Roads are often considered a practical target because they can take in large volumes of material. After testing by the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) , Victoria's transport department has been increasing the use of recycled materials in unbound bases for lightly trafficked state roads. Researchers at Melbourne's Swinburne University of Technology explored what happens when the two wastes are joined. Crushed concrete mixed with small and medium tire fragments showed significant rutting after 1,000 loading cycles in the wheel tracker test.
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