A solution for dealing with old tyres, already under way in the United States, is now being tried out in Britain — building houses with them.
Called ”earthships”, the homes provide their own solar power, water supply and sewage systems, and could provide a solution to the shortage of low-cost housing.
Each earthship is constructed using about 2 000 tyres, and with 40-million tyres being discarded each year in Britain alone there is enough free building material to construct 20 000 low-cost homes a year, said Daren Howarth, of the Low Carbon Network, who is in charge of a project in Brighton.
The perfect site for an earthship is on a south-facing slope. Each course of tyres is laid in the same way as bricks and filled with earth. A sledgehammer is used to firm the earth, partially ”inflating” the tyres. As each course is added more earth is rammed in, making a virtually indestructable dwelling.
The south-facing wall of the house is curved in such a way as to make it cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Rain water is stored and recycled.
Howarth said: ”Most of the houses are quite small but they can be any size. Some are mansions, but obviously the people who go in for these things are environmentalists so they think two or three bedrooms are enough.
”Ideally people will be able to build their own homes. In five years I hope there will be earthship estates all over the country.” — (c) Guardian Newspapers