# What is the deal with car/truck tires in Ghana? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 4, 2024, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-car-truck-tires-in-ghana/1009681 "2024-11-04T19:16:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2024, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-car-truck-tires-in-ghana/1009681/21 "2024-11-13T21:21:15Z")
And? There’s a beach in England where there’s a lot of LEGO bricks stemming from some dropped container. Last year a ferry sprunf leak and huge amount of engine diesel floated ashore not far from where I live. My beefr was that 6 ft of textiles covering beaches is a far cry from some textiles washing a shore on a beach (as per the article). The rich countries shipping their waste to poor countries is obviously a problem. Come Jan 1st, the EU has banned clothing firms from dumping unsold clothes. Computers and other electronics end up in African landfills where locals burn off the plastic to get the thin wiring to sell for scrap. But as opposed to what the OP was about, i.e. a perceived affinity for car tires in Ghana, this is “just” pollution. Ans the shoreline is not engulfed in it. The big problem Ghana faces is coastal erosion, with the beaches shrinking every year. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2024, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-car-truck-tires-in-ghana/1009681/22 "2024-11-13T21:40:57Z")
If the clothing disaster is still there, I don’t see it via a quick look at year 2024 Google satellite imagery. I just see … beach. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2024, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-car-truck-tires-in-ghana/1009681/23 "2024-11-13T23:19:16Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Are you saying that first world countries are shipping used tires to Ghana? I’m skeptical. They produce more than 2 million used tyres per year all on their own (which look pretty much like tires) > **[Ghana’s Small Enterprise Tackles Massive Tyre Problem](https://www.tyreandrubberrecycling.com/articles/features/ghanas-small-enterprise-tackles-massive-tyre-problem/)** > > Anita Afum is upcycling End of Life Tyres (ELTs) into sofas, centre tables, wall chairs and bucket centre tables ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-car-truck-tires-in-ghana/1009681/24 "2024-11-14T00:15:22Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > A little update on this - on the show referenced in the OP (_90 Day Fiancé_), they toured a home in Ghana this past episode. The American asked about a tire in the house. I was ready for a big answer for this thread! But alas, the person said that particular tire being asked about was squeezed into the doorway to keep the goats that roam the property from coming in to the home. I know! I was so hoping for an answer. Matilda’s saying that it just blocks the doorway was so disappointing. I also couldn’t help but wonder why the goats don’t simply slip through the hole in the middle of the tire. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-car-truck-tires-in-ghana/1009681/25 "2024-11-14T03:37:03Z")
Why? Lots of waste is exported from Western countries because it is expensive to dispose of locally. Tires are bulky, extremely tough, spread disease (they collect water that breeds mosquitoes) and we produce more than the recycling industry can handle. Used tire disposal is tightly regulated and tire fitting companies have to pay to have used tires taken away. It’s cheaper to cram a few thousand tires into a shipping container and send them off to somewhere to be “recycled” (wink, wink). ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-car-truck-tires-in-ghana/1009681/26 "2024-11-14T14:39:52Z")
> [@Charlie\_Tan](#): > > I know people from Ghana, and while poor, as compared to OECD standards, they don’t have 6 ft mounds of textiles on their beaches. > [@chappachula](#): > > Here is a picture of a beach in Ghana covered with piles of shredded fabric. So, which is right? This is Factual Questions, not Random Speculation. I have no idea what the truth is. But someone must. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-car-truck-tires-in-ghana/1009681/27 "2024-11-14T17:59:28Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > ETA: At cars(dot)co(dot)za I could not resist the temptation to ask for second hand Rolls Royce. Wow. That is in my affordable price range. I am sure repairs would be somewhat pricey, but my kids (and their friends) would think I was a rock star. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-car-truck-tires-in-ghana/1009681/28 "2024-11-14T18:11:18Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > So, which is right? This is Factual Questions, not Random Speculation. Why not both? Some beaches in Ghana are clean and beautiful, [![](https://resources.travellocal.com/wp/uploads/2023/01/27165059/1a36d5eb-9896-4e62-bdbd-c747504a4c29-Biriwa_1_SS-scaled.jpg) ](https://resources.travellocal.com/wp/uploads/2023/01/27165059/1a36d5eb-9896-4e62-bdbd-c747504a4c29-Biriwa_1_SS-scaled.jpg) others are full of textile waste. > **['Dead white man's clothes': The dirty secret behind the world's fashion...](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-12/fast-fashion-turning-parts-ghana-into-toxic-landfill/100358702)** > > For decades, the West's unwanted fashion has made its way to used-clothing markets in Africa. Now it's fuelling an environmental catastrophe. Same happens in Europe too: the clean beautiful beaches have to be kept clean, otherwise they become polluted too in a matter of days. Not with textiles, usually. But with plastic residues, tar, bottles, tires… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-car-truck-tires-in-ghana/1009681.md?page=1)