Scrap tires: Black gold or fool`s gold?
Three years ago, a US EPA report estimated there were between 2 and 3 billion tires stockpiled in the US. Currently, according to the Scrap Tire Management Council (STMC, Washington, DC), the number of stockpiled tires totals 850 million. However, this reduction is not due to federal or state legislation; simply, the number was overestimated. Whatever the actual number, scrap tire mounds have been large enough to prompt 34 states to developed scrap tire funding programs aimed at eliminating the stockpiling of the some 250 million tires generated per year, while gradually eliminating the tires already stockpiled. However, of the 34 states, only Illinois, Oregon, Florida, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, are aggressively tackling the problem. In each of these five cases, state officials claim, the only viable way to reduce large quantities of tires quickly is through energy reuse, and, like any other disposal method, it costs money. To compensate for the costs of elimination, states are developing funding for scrap tire reduction programs by placing fees on tire disposal, tire purchase, or vehicle title transfer and registration.
- OSTI ID:
- 162969
- Journal Information:
- Waste Age, Vol. 26, Issue 10; Other Information: PBD: Oct 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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