Rubber Tires

Know where rubber tires come from?

If you have ever thought about how many rubber tires there are everywhere, you may wonder how there is enough raw material from rubber plants to make them all. Well, there isn't.

Today's tires

Currently, the tire industry must rely on synthetic rubber, made from petroleum, to keep the rubber tires rolling off the production line. In hopes of reducing their reliance on oil to make new tires, industry researchers are looking for other sources of rubber, and it seems they have found one.

Solution

The Russian dandelion, unlike the rubber tree, can be grown in areas other than tropical regions. By creating rubber from this plant, which can be farmed sustainably and globally, the tire industry hopes to wean itself off oil.

TIP: The rubber extracted from the dandelion root is less affected by weather than the rubber obtained from the rubber tree.

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