When I first started thinking of using stacked tires as raised beds to keep my veggies out of reach of the jackrabbits I had the same concern. A bit of research indicated that tires are not toxic of themselves, but they are invariably coated with road crud including oil and various other nasty things. A good washing with a detergent will remove that stuff, which is the black that gets on your hands. Clean tires do not turn your hands black, do not outgas, and do not leach anything into your plants.
Of course the internet is full of misinformation and I'm certainly not a professional chemist, so YMMV.
Cutting tires is easy with a razor knife and water. Avoid steel belted for this method, or use a jig saw, which will get very hot.
spaceman All opinions expressed or implied are subject to change without notice upon receipt of new information. http://Starship-Enterprises.Net
On 12/2/2010 4:04 PM, eo greensticks wrote:
i like the idea of using tires but am a bit concerned about outgassing?if they are buried, maybe less a problem for that but maybe still they might leach? i am thinking of wrapping tires in magnesium concrete and cloth & netting to sarcophagize the tire material, a little bit in the spirit of Trash Rocks? Would a cloth and concrete layer over the weatherboards then rendered with papercrete be a way to cover the tread weatherboards? i honestly don't know if i could cut a tire up though! in a bushfire zone, would this arrangement be a way around the risk of exposed tire burning?
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