4 ms·

if you're worried about microplastics from drying your patagonia fleece in the dryer, worry about other things first. Car tires get ground up into microplastic

if you're worried about microplastics from drying your patagonia fleece in the dryer, worry about other things first. Car tires get ground up into microplastic and estimates range between 10 and 28% of the total microplastic pollution in the oceans [1]. And that's not surprising - the weight loss of a single tire over its lifetime likely exceeds the entire weight of your fleece jacket. Drive less car miles before worrying about patagonia clothes. [1] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/tires-unseen-plastic-polluter https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/tires...

HPsquared 4y ago
For tires, is anyone working on biodegradable or otherwise eco-friendly tire materials? Something that is biocompatible. Although you don't want tires breaking down and causing accidents... Tires have a lot of conflicting design requirements.
- mandmandam 4y ago
  Bio tires would be great, but the more immediate, easy and efficient solution is public transport investment to reduce car use.
  - LarryMullins 4y ago
    Tires made with natural rubber are nothing new, that's the way all tires used to be made. And I doubt it's any better for the environment, from either a microplastics perspective or a deforestation perspective.
- hinkley 4y ago
  Michelin had a tire formula a few years ago that was augmented with natural hydrocarbons. They claimed that it gave the tire better performance at 50% tread wear as well. But I found out recently they don’t sell the model I bought anymore so I’m not sure if the expectations matched the projections or what happened.
einpoklum 4y ago
I'm wondering - how much microplastics come from _bicycle_ tires? I mean, surely it's a lot less, but how much less? Say, per bike km ridden?
- Xylakant 4y ago
  I can tell you that my pair of bike tires is now 13 000km old, still going strong, and weighs about 790g each. It may loose maybe 100 or 200g over it's lifetime, but unlikely that it's even that much. Worst case estimate so far would be 790g/13 000km, or 0.061g/km per wheel - under the assumption that the whole tire is consumed.
- hunter2_ 4y ago
  For cars and bikes alike, it all comes down to how much work the tires are doing, which is to say, how much hard acceleration and hard braking occurs, especially to the point of losing traction despite grippy conditions (burnout/skid), in conjunction with how much mass is being moved. E-bikes and e-scooters are going to be way worse than human power, per distance, because of the quicker acceleration/braking. My FWD scooter is always slipping on uphill climbs, but my RWD bike doesn't because the weight is shifted appropriately. Lots of considerations.
hinkley 4y ago
We should worry about the global phenomenon of microplastics for sure, but most of what’s in my yard came from litter or from the dryer vent. Also they used to use more natural fibers and now it’s almost all blends, except some of the work clothes.

HPsquared 4y ago

For tires, is anyone working on biodegradable or otherwise eco-friendly tire materials? Something that is biocompatible. Although you don't want tires breaking down and causing accidents... Tires have a lot of conflicting design requirements.

mandmandam 4y ago
Bio tires would be great, but the more immediate, easy and efficient solution is public transport investment to reduce car use.
- LarryMullins 4y ago
  Tires made with natural rubber are nothing new, that's the way all tires used to be made. And I doubt it's any better for the environment, from either a microplastics perspective or a deforestation perspective.
hinkley 4y ago
Michelin had a tire formula a few years ago that was augmented with natural hydrocarbons. They claimed that it gave the tire better performance at 50% tread wear as well. But I found out recently they don’t sell the model I bought anymore so I’m not sure if the expectations matched the projections or what happened.

einpoklum 4y ago

I'm wondering - how much microplastics come from _bicycle_ tires? I mean, surely it's a lot less, but how much less? Say, per bike km ridden?

Xylakant 4y ago
I can tell you that my pair of bike tires is now 13 000km old, still going strong, and weighs about 790g each. It may loose maybe 100 or 200g over it's lifetime, but unlikely that it's even that much. Worst case estimate so far would be 790g/13 000km, or 0.061g/km per wheel - under the assumption that the whole tire is consumed.
hunter2_ 4y ago
For cars and bikes alike, it all comes down to how much work the tires are doing, which is to say, how much hard acceleration and hard braking occurs, especially to the point of losing traction despite grippy conditions (burnout/skid), in conjunction with how much mass is being moved. E-bikes and e-scooters are going to be way worse than human power, per distance, because of the quicker acceleration/braking. My FWD scooter is always slipping on uphill climbs, but my RWD bike doesn't because the weight is shifted appropriately. Lots of considerations.

hinkley 4y ago

We should worry about the global phenomenon of microplastics for sure, but most of what’s in my yard came from litter or from the dryer vent. Also they used to use more natural fibers and now it’s almost all blends, except some of the work clothes.