Wear and Tear of Tyres: A Stealthy Source of Microplastics in the Environment

By P. J. Kole, Ansje Löhr, F. V. Van Belleghem, Ad M. J. Ragas. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2017

1,264 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Wear and tear from tyres significantly contributes to the flow of (micro-)plastics into the environment. This paper compiles the fragmented knowledge on tyre wear and tear characteristics, amounts of particles emitted, pathways in the environment, and the possible effects on humans. The estimated per capita emission ranges from 0.23 to 4.7 kg/year, with a global average of 0.81 kg/year. The emissions from car tyres (100%) are substantially higher than those of other sources of microplastics, e.g., airplane tyres (2%), artificial turf (12–50%), brake wear (8%) and road markings (5%). Emissions and pathways depend on local factors like road type or sewage systems. The relative contribution of tyre wear and tear to the total global amount of plastics ending up in our oceans is estimated to be 5–10%. In air, 3–7% of the particulate matter (PM2.5) is estimated to consist of tyre wear and tear, indicating that it may contribute to the global health burden of air pollution which has been projected by the World Health Organization (WHO) at 3 million deaths in 2012. The wear and tear also enters our food chain, but further research is needed to assess human health risks. It is concluded here that tyre wear and tear is a stealthy source of microplastics in our environment, which can only be addressed effectively if awareness increases, knowledge gaps on quantities and effects are being closed, and creative technical solutions are being sought. This requires a global effort from all stakeholders; consumers, regulators, industry and researchers alike.

Subfields: Biomaterials, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Pollution

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/5d03295f0cb0033fc8c93b70d08b8603dbd625b1

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In Biomaterials

1. M. Seeley
2. Yuhuan Sun
3. C. Adams
4. Fayuan Wang
5. Shuwu Zhang
6. R. Hale

In Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

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In Pollution

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Citations in the corpus

• Assessment of microplastics in freshwater systems: A review. (2019, background): “Fibres account for 59%, probably because of a large amount of laundry wastewater discharge (Kole et al., 2017), and it is a concern because it is not removed by the current wastewater treatment process (Browne, 2015).”
• Atmospheric microplastic deposition in an urban environment and an evaluation of transport (2019, background): “However, given the substantial microplastic environmental loadings predicted form tyre wear (Kole et al., 2017), it is recommended that future studies adapt existing methods to include these particles.”
• A Global Perspective on Microplastics (2020, background): “Kole et al. (2017) estimated that each person in the U.S. generated 4.7 kg year−1 of tire wear microplastics, equivalent to 1.8 million metric tons year−1.”
• Interactions between microplastics and soil fauna: A critical review (2021, background): “Tire wear contributes greatly to the entry of MPs into the environment, with an estimated per capita emission of 0.23 4.7 kg per year (Kole et al., 2017).”