Dandelions, the landscaper’s curse and wish-making weed, may be used very soon to create sustainable tires. Did you know that the U.S. imports its rubber from Southeast Asia for roughly $3 billion annually? Yup, it’s a substantial sum. To cut back these costs and provide a more eco-friendly alternative to imported rubber, which relies on scarce rubber trees, a couple of outfits in the U.S. are working on extracting latex from a rare cousin of the American dandelion.
Everyone knows just how quickly dandelions multiply, with no fertilizer or irrigation needed, so growing them can be done for a low cost. In fact, Ohio State University’s agricultural research facility has been breeding the Kazakh dandelion for several years and their researchers say they think they can produce an acre of them for only $100. The university is on its fourth generation of plants, which have been bred very carefully to produce greater quantities of latex, as well as stickier latex.
Additionally, the North American division of Czech Republic-based manufacturer, Mitas, is an exclusive producer of agricultural tires and always looking into new raw materials for their projects. One of those new materials is the Kazakh dandelion, which Mitas is currently researching in hopes of finding the best ways to convert the Kazakh dandelion’s high-quality latex into rubber for their tires.
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