An average automobile tire can travel around 30,000 kilometers before they need to be replaced. Tires that have reached the end of their lifetime are usually recycled, but in Kuwait, they are dumped into one of the biggest landfills on earth in Sulaibiya area near Kuwait City. Every year gigantic holes are dug out in the desert and filled with old tyres. There are already seven million tires out there. The expanse of rubber is so vast that they are now visible from space.

The tires arrive from both Kuwait and other countries. Four companies are currently in charge of the disposal of the tires - and are believed to be recompensed handsomely for their efforts.

Satellite picture of the tire dump in Sulaibiya, Kuwait.