Enormous Tire Graveyard in Kuwait

Even though tires are definitely quite resilient, friction eventually takes its toll. Afterwards, these rubbery car shoes are usually recycled and used in the paving of rubber roads or in the manufacturing process of other tires, but in Kuwait they are dumped in one of the world’s largest tire graveyards. This huge landfill houses over 7 million tires at the moment, which means that it can actually be seen from outer space.

The tires might not all be originating from Kuwait, since neighboring countries could easily pay a fee in order to have their own waste carried to the landfill. In 2013, a massive fire fueled by 5 million tires broke out, and as you can probably imagine, it was very difficult to contain and put out. Since tires are made out of rubber, they actually produce a lot of smoke when they burn, and they can also release toxic chemicals in the process, which is quite bad for the environment. The fire was eventually put out thanks to a joint effort by 100 firefighters, several employees of the Kuwait Oil Company and numerous soldiers.