I live in upstate NY and have no idea what I am supposed to do with the disposal of rubber tracks from my excavator. I called my county recycling center and they were clueless. Very frustrating that local government can not tell people how to properly dispose of waste. I'm curious if anyone has had a similar problem or if anyone can give insight as to what I should do with these old tracks!
Sell it on Craigslist as an raised garden bed.
It's been a problem since they became popular. Burning is the ideal solution but will most likely get you arrested. Lots of them get buried in fills but you didn't hear it from me.
One time use fire ring.....Sell 'em to the campers, no cleanup required. Seriously, dairy farmers take old large tires and cut them in half attaching them to a skid loader to squeegee feed and manure. Might work in that way of some sort (or snowplow rubber edge)
Haha yeah I'd like to avoid getting arrested. I am really surprised that the county has no solution for people or can even recommend what to do. To the fill they will go it seems. Not sure if I want to waste my time trying to find someone that might want my garbage on craigslist though I could make a post in case some random person out there feels they can use a busted excavator track.
Maybe I will put a craigslist ad up first and see if anyone bites. I would much rather have someone use the rubber for something than have it rot underground for 100 years.
Look for a used equipment dealer, if your old tracks are still in a circle they can go on a machine with a broken track to get it out the door? Free is a very good price, and maybe even delivered?
You would be amazed at how much "stuff" I get rid of by just putting it out by the road with a FREE sign on it. Old tires, broken furniture, old lumber, basically any of that "stuff" that always accumulates around the farm that is just always in the way but you just hate to send to the dump because you think that someday you may need a part of of it. I have actually had people out front fighting over who saw it first. Why pay money out of your pocket to get rid of something when someone else may take it for free? Give it a try, you may be surprised... Also, in my area (and maybe others) we place a "Curb Alert" on Craiglist, just give your address and what the item is then watch out the window for the crazy people to show up. Yea, I do enjoy cheap entertainment.
Instead of the "FREE" sign I'd be tempted to put a sign saying $150.00 More likely to get "Stolen" that way! But putting on the curb can work. I had an old set of wooden steps with a small landing I was wanting to get rid of for awhile. Decided to put it out at the curb this summer. Before I even had time to find something to make a sign a lady stops by and says she'll take it! A few minutes latter she was back with a guy in a pick-up to haul it away! Seems someone had just crashed a car into her front steps a couple days before.
Well I've had my "FREE" craigslist ad up for about 24 hours and no bites yet. Dumping by the road isn't so good as I live on a dead end street so not too much traffic!
anyone burned a rubber excavator track? what kind of burn time are we looking at here?
Long enough for the fire dept & the EPA to show up. Joe H
Black plume would have to be a mile high. Out in the country that is probably not a huge issue with the local law- but maybe not a great plan burning nasty stuff like that.
I have worn out rubber tracks stashed all around my main work yard. I am thinking that I will turn them into a garden plot. Potatoes in the Deere skid tracks, jicima and daicon in the cat skid tracks. Strawberry and tomatoes in the mini ex tracks.... It will be beautiful.
As far a burning rubber away, I had to replace a ton of isolators on a drum roller a couple of weeks ago. I am thinking of setting a small fire to reclaim the metal. Nice 6x6x1/4 inch steel plates. I don't currently have any use for them, but I am constantly shocked at what I am paying for steel lately.
I really don't understand why Govts aren't making greater efforts to recycle tyres, tracks and big rubber components. They're a massive waste problem, and getting worse all the time. There's a decent market and uses for crumbed rubber, and the steel component of tyres/tracks is considerable. We have a huge supply of waste mining tyres, the big users of these tyres are just starting to install their own tyre shredders, because of pollution, disposal costs, and fire risk concerns. The State Govt here has just subsidised a new tyre recycling facility locally, but it's still only going to process 30,000 tonnes of tyres annually. I'd have to opine that's still far less than what is produced by way of new rubber products. There was an inventor here about 25-30 years ago who patented a recycling process whereby the rubber item was dunked in liquid nitrogen. This froze the rubber solid, and then it was whacked with a hammer mill and the rubber and textile and steel all just fell apart, making it easy to separate the different materials. He tried to get some Govt funding to set up a rubber recycling plant, but the Govt claimed it wasn't an economic process and would require constant, ongoing, financial support. But back them, the demand for recycled rubber products was extremely low - today, it's a different ball game, and maybe that guys recycling ideas would be viable today. Pyrolysis, where the waste tyres are converted into diesel fuel, seems to be a viable proposition in this era of rising fuel prices, and a lot of research money is currently going into this area. The diesel produced from waste tyres can easily meet low-emission levels requirements, so that's a bonus. How used tyres may be the solution to Australia's fuel security problems A central Queensland oil refinery says biodiesel made from used tyres can work in a standard diesel engine. www.abc.net.au
Problem with a track though is it's not something an average guy or two is lifting.
"Problem with a track though is it's not something an average guy or two is lifting." The tracks on my IHI 80NX weigh 850lbs apiece. Someone would need a winch, forklift, or 4 prison gangers to load one onto a trailer or truck by hand. Since burning them is not a great solution and recycling them costs hundreds of dollars for each track, I lean towards cutting them into pieces and landfill.
Instead of lifting, can't you just roll it like a tire ?
I had no idea they were so heavy till I loaded one on my truck and about blew a gasket. I was crying inside about thinking I'm really loosing it with getting old, can't even pick up maybe 100lbs. Few weeks later I happened across tracks and weights and realized they're quite heavy! I got rid of mine in the dumpster at work.
land fill? you could cut it up and do smaller pieces wonder if a tire recycle place would take it
Tyre recyclers here are quite fussy on what they will take - they take only car and truck tyres. No rubber tracks, no solids or semi-solids, and no mining tyres. These are the products that are now building up as waste, and causing headaches for disposal. IMO, authorities should make the tyre and track manufacturers responsible for recycling their tyre waste.
They work good to protect the deck of a lowbed when moving dirt or trash compactors. Cut them & lay them out. Need a crane or forklift. I used a set of old Challenger 65 belts.
Pops52 awesome idea. How did you cut them?
It was a job. Combination 9” grinder wheel and metal sawzall. It saved my apitong deck. 12 pack helps
We cut ours in half and throw them in our yard dumpster. We cut them using a gas demo saw/cut saw. Goes through it pretty quick.