Recycled Tires Used For Roofing, Fence Sealant

By John Honore - KSAT 12 News Reporter

Featured On KSAT.com on 04/28/2010

FAIR OAKS RANCH, Texas -- Every year, more than 300,000,000 tires are discarded in the United States. Most are reclaimed, but nearly 20 percent are left to rot in landfills. They would take tens of thousands of years to break down and disintegrate.

E & G Coatings, a company based in Mexico with U.S. headquarters in San Antonio, thinks it's found a solution. They have come up with a method to turn the tires in to a fine powder and mix them into to types of sealant. One sealant can be used as a roofing material, primarily for commercial properties, and another is a sealant that covers wood fencing.

The roofing material is environmentally friendly on many fronts. It eliminates the tires from landfills, but it can also be colored to reflect light, reducing energy costs associated with air conditioning.

The fencing sealant is guaranteed for 10 years. Traditional stains typically last only two or three years. The recycled tire, which is about a third of the sealant's ingredients, is what gives the sealant its longevity.

E & G Coatings has contracted with the Raintree Woods subdivision in Fair Oaks Ranch to stain and seal 4,500 square feet of their fencing. Victor Cantu, part owner of the company, estimates the project used 100 recycled tires.

"The whole ambition of our corporation is to make something that's green," he said. "To do something for our planet that nobody else does."