Researchers at the University of Bayreuth have, for the first time, provided concrete figures on the abrasion of mountain bike tyres in off-road conditions. Their findings contribute to a better understanding of the global microplastic cycle. They report on their research in the journal „Science of The Total Environment“.
They’re plastic?? I always thought they were rubber.
Rubber counts as microplastic pollution, because it has the same effects: It will not biodegrade, is not healthy to have in your body, but will accumulate there
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_pollution
Is there an alternative to rubber tires that does biodegrade?
No afaik but I’d bet there’s at least someone working on that - it’s needed asap, as car tires shed a quarter of all microplastics in the environment.
Wow, that’s a lot higher than I expected.
Whoever comes up with a viable solution stands to make a lot of money.
Oh that’s neat! Was always under the impression that it was fine because it being from the rubber tree and how rubber bands can dry out and crumble afterba while
I think only about 25% of tire materials are natural. The rest are synthetic rubber, resins and fillers, then metal.
Huh, TIL syntheic rubber is a thing