May 30 2003
Constructing buildings from old tyres is not a new thing. The technique has been developed over the last 30 years in the United States but the first building made from car tyres in Britain is now under construction near Brighton by the Low Carbon Network.
Dubbed ‘Earthships’ these buildings are made from old car tyres hand packed with rubble and dirt then stacked to create walls. In addition to providing relief from a massive waste problem (the UK alone discards more than 40million tyres every year) Earthships are solar powered buildings that use the sun's energy and rain to provide heat, power and water. Without the use of greenhouse gas emitting power stations or mains water and waste services they are also cheap to run.
Source: Low Carbon Network