In a bid to protect the environment and encourage recycling solid waste, Sharjah Municipality has embarked on a pioneering environment-friendly approach to reuse millions of waste tyres.

A tyre shredder has been fixed at the municipality's Solid Waste Collection area in Saja'a. The shredder is expected to break down about 300 waste tyres an hour. The machine is expected to be fully operational next week.

Engineer Yahya Ramadan Al Balushi, head of the Environmental Protection Section of the municipality, said: "The facility will play a key role in protecting the environment, reducing pollution and encouraging waste recycling."

The new facility is expected to support other industries also. About four million used tyres have been collected at Sharjah Municipality's landfill area near Saja'a on the Sharjah-Dhaid Highway. About 15 to 20 tonnes of waste tyres are collected every day at this site.

To meet the environmental challenges facing the emirate today, the new facility will get rid of the huge tyre waste and break them into smaller pieces which can be reused for a number purposes.

The construction sector is expected to benefit most from the recycled tyres, among many other industries.

The recycled tyres, he said will be used to manufacture by-products such as tiles, roofing material, pipes and other construction material.

"It has positively contributed to preserving the environment. Instead of burning or burying them, waste tyres will now be reduced and recycled. While burning them causes air pollution, they can also contaminate the underground water if buried. We are using them in various construction projects instead," Al Balushi said.

He said the number of used tyres has gone up in the emirate due to the increasing number of cars during the two last decades.

He said this environment-friendly equipment is deployed to recycle the tyres that have piled up in the industrial areas for years.

Al Balushi said he is confident that the equipment is capable of substantially reducing the amount of waste tyres over the months to come.