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I am skeptical that these will be better for the environment. Maybe there will be fewer tires discarded due to flats, but the tires will weigh more. That's more

I am skeptical that these will be better for the environment. Maybe there will be fewer tires discarded due to flats, but the tires will weigh more. That's more material discarded per tire and more energy to drive them around.

AStrangeMorrow 5y ago
Maybe I am wrong, but I think I've red somewhere that these are made to be re-threaded. Meaning when the outer layer get damaged with use, instead of changing the whole tire, just the outer part can be replaced. Not too sure how that works though. If that is the case, it should help reduce the amount of waste by a lot. Plus even if these new tires are heavier, I doubt they are 10 times heavier either. I'd be surprised if the added weight to the car will increase the energy consumption in a very noticeable way.
- andylynch 5y ago
  They call it ‘recharging’ on this page. They even propose converting between summer/winter by reprinting the tread.
  - modeless 5y ago
    Pneumatic tires can also be retreaded. But we generally don't do it for passenger cars. I'm not sure of the reasons why so I can't say whether these tires address any of them. I'd want to see some explanation before I believe it.
Chris2048 5y ago
Surely the ability to recycle/repurpose an old tyre matters more than the flats, so I'm not sure how this helps. Also, I see the biggest concern as degradation of tyres contributing to rubber-dust pollution: "according to the UK government, and they are the second largest source of microplastic pollutant in oceans after single-use plastic" Seems like it would be better to find an eco-friendly alternative to tyre rubber instead. If this design allows that (e.g. by allowing tyre materials that aren't as stretchy as an inflatable would need to be) I'm all for it, but that's a more complicated definition of "good for environment", dependant on other tech being developed.

AStrangeMorrow 5y ago

Maybe I am wrong, but I think I've red somewhere that these are made to be re-threaded. Meaning when the outer layer get damaged with use, instead of changing the whole tire, just the outer part can be replaced. Not too sure how that works though. If that is the case, it should help reduce the amount of waste by a lot. Plus even if these new tires are heavier, I doubt they are 10 times heavier either. I'd be surprised if the added weight to the car will increase the energy consumption in a very noticeable way.

andylynch 5y ago
They call it ‘recharging’ on this page. They even propose converting between summer/winter by reprinting the tread.
- modeless 5y ago
  Pneumatic tires can also be retreaded. But we generally don't do it for passenger cars. I'm not sure of the reasons why so I can't say whether these tires address any of them. I'd want to see some explanation before I believe it.

Chris2048 5y ago

Surely the ability to recycle/repurpose an old tyre matters more than the flats, so I'm not sure how this helps. Also, I see the biggest concern as degradation of tyres contributing to rubber-dust pollution: "according to the UK government, and they are the second largest source of microplastic pollutant in oceans after single-use plastic" Seems like it would be better to find an eco-friendly alternative to tyre rubber instead. If this design allows that (e.g. by allowing tyre materials that aren't as stretchy as an inflatable would need to be) I'm all for it, but that's a more complicated definition of "good for environment", dependant on other tech being developed.