As waste and recycling fleets continue to seek ways to increase efficiency while also striving to achieve sustainability goals, they must leverage these best practices to be successful. Investing in retreading and digital solutions can help uncover operational inefficiencies and highlight opportunities for improvement.
By Travis Canada
The waste industry is known for its demanding operations鈥攃hallenging terrain, long hours, and heavy loads. For commercial fleets, one critical element of maintaining productivity and minimizing downtime is tire performance. With the increasing costs of operations and focus on sustainability, the tire industry has made significant strides in tire construction, safety, longevity, and eco-friendly solutions. Advancements in tire technology now offer fleets the opportunity to maximize their investments while enhancing efficiency and minimizing environmental impact. As waste fleet managers look to optimize their operations, understanding these tire innovations and implementing proactive maintenance practices is essential.
Modern waste tires are designed to withstand the extreme demands of the industry, providing greater durability and longer service life. One key development is the rise of聽fuel-efficient tires, which not only reduce fuel consumption but also offer extended mileage. These tires incorporate advanced tread compounds that reduce rolling resistance, thereby optimizing fuel efficiency鈥攁 crucial factor for waste fleet operations that often travel extensive routes.
With numerous innovative options available on the market, the challenge for fleet operators is selecting the ideal tire for their specific application to maximize the value of every tire. Below are some factors to consider.
Images courtesy of Bridgestone Americas.
The Perfect Tire = Maximum Efficiency
Modern waste tires are designed to withstand the extreme demands of the industry, providing greater durability and longer service life. From rural to suburban areas and navigating tight spaces, turns, curbs, and debris, the challenging routes maneuvered by drivers require tires that can stand up to the test while reducing fleet costs. With that in mind, tire manufacturers know durability and efficiency are necessary when designing any new products.
While tires manufactured for waste and recycling fleets are becoming increasingly individualized based on application, there are also design features that improve durability that fleets should be aware of when shopping for new tires. For example, waste and recycling tires will incorporate sidewall protection features to help guard the casing from excessive scrubbing and punctures.
This extra layer of protection on the road helps mitigate the risk of tire failure and drives uptime. Most tires for this segment will also use tread patterns and compounds that offer improved wear and scrub resistance to maintain durability over longer periods of time. This adds more structural protection to the tire, improves fuel economy and promotes even wear. These types of features are incorporated to help drive efficiency and keep tires in service longer, lowering the total cost of ownership and enabling fleets to maintain operations and reduce downtime.
To select the most effective tire for your operations, manufacturers recommend partnering with your local tire dealer experts who can provide tailored recommendations based on your fleet鈥檚 specific needs. Strategically positioned nationwide, these professionals collaborate with you at your place of business to understand daily challenges and match your fleet with the right tires.
Level Up Sustainability with Retreads
Another notable advancement is the growing shift toward聽sustainable tire materials and retreadability. With the increased pressure to reduce environmental impact, tire manufacturers are incorporating more recycled materials and eco-friendly components into their designs. Not only does this help minimize the carbon footprint, but it also supports the circular economy, where tires can be repurposed for other uses once they have reached the end of their useful life. Significant improvements in retread designs and compounds are extending the lifespan of casings, reducing waste, and lowering the demand for raw materials while maintaining reliable tire performance.
Alongside the performance benefits of retreaded tires, when premium tires are properly maintained, fleets have the option of retreading the casing multiple times after the tread reaches the fleet鈥檚 designated pull point. The likelihood of successfully retreading an old tire increases when fleets equip their vehicles with the right tire and proper maintenance practices, resulting in more even wear that contributes to better casing preservation over time.
Fleets have used retreads for more than 50 years because of their environmental and financial benefits. Retreaded tires offer the same performance benefits as brand-new ones but use significantly fewer resources to create, which enables manufacturers to sell them at a lower price than new. According to Bandag Retread, one of the nation鈥檚 leaders in retreaded tires, a new tire may require up to 22 gallons of oil to produce, whereas a retread only uses seven. For fleets that go through a high volume of tires, the resource and cost savings can add up. Additionally, these savings help reduce emissions at manufacturing plants鈥攕upporting both operational efficiency and sustainability goals.
Limiting tire waste is another core benefit of retreaded tires. By giving worn-down tires new life, fleets are diverting waste from landfills and keeping rubber on the road longer. In some cases, tires can be retreaded multiple times, extending tire life even further and prolonging waste from entering landfills.
Streamline Maintenance with Digital Tools
Digital solutions and tools have quickly cemented their place in the waste and recycling industry. Smart tire technologies help fleets acquire data that enables them to make better-informed decisions, driving efficiency, safety, and sustainability.
Smart tire sensors can be applied directly to tires. This small piece of equipment helps capture critical information, such as tire pressure, and alerts drivers to potential issues before they arise. These sensors can be directly attached to a tire鈥檚 air gauge. The sensors collect real-time data that transmit insights to cloud-based software designed by tire manufacturers, so drivers, fleet managers, and even tire dealers can access the information. The other type of technology being developed by tire manufacturers is drive-over technology. As the name suggests, fleets drive over uniquely designed plates that capture multiple tread depth measurements across the tire width every time a truck drives over it. With frequent measurements and alerts when tires are approaching pull-point, fleets can monitor tread as it wears and avoid removing tires too early or too late. The system can also help extend tire life by flagging any uneven wear or mismatch detected that accelerates tire wear. Tracking tread depth over time enables tire wear forecasting for a vehicle type, as well as for each individual tire, which helps fleet managers plan maintenance and inventory needs. This in-yard solution provides fleets with a comprehensive tread depth report in real time to determine what maintenance is needed today, tomorrow, or can wait until next week.
Both tools aim to simplify and provide the insights needed to make maintenance more convenient and streamlined. By integrating these types of technology into operations, fleets become more efficient in several ways, including labor and maintenance, improved safety and compliance, and enhanced sustainability by maximizing the lifespan of tires.
The Power to Drive Change
As waste and recycling fleets continue to seek ways to increase efficiency while also striving to achieve sustainability goals, they must leverage these best practices to be successful. Manufacturers are creating tires tailored to the specific needs of fleets, regardless of the environment in which they operate. Tires that fit the unique environments of your fleet drive performance and improve productivity, lead to more efficient operations. As a byproduct of using the right tires, fleets can then maximize their investment through retreading. By extending tire life, retreads significantly reduce the industry鈥檚 reliance on natural resources and delay the entry of used tires into waste streams. Finally, digital solutions can help uncover operational inefficiencies and highlight opportunities for improvement. Sensors and drive-over technologies are designed to make maintenance convenient for fleets, ensuring that tires are properly monitored, maintenance is simplified, and potential issues are identified before they cause operational disruptions.
If these best practices are implemented, fleets have the power to drive meaningful change鈥攂oosting efficiency today while paving the way for a cleaner, more sustainable tomorrow. | WA
Travis Canada is Strategic Accounts Leader for Bridgestone Americas. He is responsible for maintaining and growing the relationships established with fleets nationwide,聽as well as all servicing dealers.聽For more information, visit