What can you do with approximately 500 million used tyres? Answers please, urgently, to the Department of Trade and Industry, which fears that a massive rubber mountain will build up rapidly in the next three years as EU legislation demands that tyres are no longer dumped in landfill sites.
One of Britain's leading transport laboratories yesterday came up with more than 50 ideas, ranging from sound insulation, artificial reefs, house-building materials and making slopes for golf courses, to plugging the gaps in coastal and river defences, drainage, road surfacing and insulation.
The report from Viridis, a company formed out of the privatisation of the government's road research laboratory in 1996, also suggests using the material to produce flooring, roof tiles, carpet underlay, and bowling greens.
"There is a distinct chance that we will end up with a very big tyre mountain, but this is an opportunity as well as a problem," said Murray Reed of Viridis. "Tyres are a genuinely lightweight material which can be used in all kinds of ways."
From July 16, it will be illegal to dump whole tyres in landfill sites, and within two years it will be illegal to dump shredded ones.
The industry and the government expect that the UK's ability to get rid of tyres will be exceeded by about 140,000 tonnes next year, and up to 500,000 tonnes after the ban on shredded tyres comes in.
Illegal dumping of tyres is already a big environmental problem and is expected to increase rapidly from July.
The Environment Agency says tyres do not decompose and can be a fire risk, affecting both the air and watercourses. Some tyre fires at landfill sites have been burning for years.
Viridis estimates that the number of old tyres could increase by 30% by 2012 as a result of increased car ownership, the greater distances being travelled and increased speeds.
"How to process the growing number in a sustainable way is now an important international issue," it said.
The UK makes 4m tyres a year, and disposes of 435,000 tonnes. About 11% are exported for disposal, 62% incinerated or reused, and 23% sent to landfill sites.
