As part of this regulation all tires must be tested according to the same load and speed criteria as those undergone by new tires. The Land Fill Directive of 1999 banned tires in landfills in 2003, and banned shredded tires in 2006. United States The Department of Transportation requires marking of a "DOTR number" which shows the name of the retreader and when it was retreaded. Safety The United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recognizes the public perception that retread tires frequently used by heavy vehicles are less safe than new tires as evidenced by tire debris frequently found on highways. The NHTSA is continuing research to determine the proportion of tire debris from retreads in comparison to new tires. Additionally, the NHTSA is researching the cause of tire failure and the crash safety problem posed by tire failures. Federal Executive Order 13149, signed by President Bill Clinton supports the use of retread tires for economic and environmental efficiency by requiring federal vehicles to use retread tires after original factory equipped tires become non serviceable, but only when "such products are reasonably available and meet applicable performance standards". Environmental impact Retread tires in service lower the volume of raw materials required for the manufacturing of a new tire. This includes a pronounced reduction in the use of oil. In fact, the US EPA estimated a greater than 75% savings in oil used for a retread as compared to a new tire. This also means significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. A car tire has 40% natural rubber and 60% oil based rubber, a retreading of tires will reduce the need for natural rubber significantly. In addition to reducing the amount of raw materials extracted, retread tires also minimize the amount of waste that ends up in landfills. The latest figures by the US EPA indicate that over 11.2 M waste tires were dumped into the U.S. municipal solid waste stream. To understand this figure, it is equivalent to lining up passenger tires tread to tread from roughly Los Angeles to San Diego or Philadelphia to Washington DC. Because a retread tire prevents the need for manufacturing a new tire, significant environmental benefits are achieved. References Tires Recycling