US dumped 2 million tyres in the 1970s to help marine life; cleanup continues

Millions of old vehicle tyres were placed offshore near Broward County for artificial reefs. Shifting currents and storms scattered these tyres, damaging existing coral reefs. Government agencies are now undertaking a massive, multi-year cleanup operation. Specialist divers and equipment are required for this extensive recovery effort. This project highlights the long-term consequences of environmental initiatives. For a time, placing old vehicle tyres on the seabed was seen as a practical way to create habitat where marine life might gather. Similar projects appeared in different parts of the world during the second half of the twentieth century, reflecting ideas about artificial reefs that were widely accepted at the time. Off the coast of Broward County in Florida, that approach grew to an exceptional scale. What began as an ambitious attempt to improve fish habitat eventually produced a very different legacy. Decades later, shifting currents, tropical storms and hurricanes exposed the weaknesses of the project, leaving government agencies with a vast and technically demanding cleanup effort that is still unfolding years after it first began.Why millions of tyres were placed off...