(ARA) - Although they may look round and black, retreaded tires are one of the greenest, environmentally friendly products a fleet can buy. Retreaded tires have one of the highest post-consumer contents of all recycled products, and are responsible for saving North Americans more than 400 million gallons of oil every year.

Most people don't know that tires contain a very large percentage of synthetic rubber, which is petroleum based. Every time a truck tire is retreaded there is a savings of approximately 15 gallons of oil. In addition, every tire that is retreaded is one less tire for our overcrowded landfills.

"I don't know of any other recycled product that saves as much money for the end user as a retreaded tire. When you add these savings into the natural resources that are saved and the positive impact this has on the environment, using retreads is a win, win solution for both the transportation industry and the environment," said Martin Bozarth, executive director of the International Tire & Rubber Association.

"Tire retreading makes an important contribution to the reduction in the number of tires requiring annual disposal by insuring that tires, especially medium truck tires, provide the fullest possible service life. Retreadable casings should always be directed to the retread market," says John Serumgard of the Scrap Tire Management Council

For more information about the environmental and economic benefits of retreaded tires, visit www.retread.org, or contact the Tire Retread Information Bureau toll free at (888) 473-8732, or by e-mail: info@retread.org.