Fayette Soil & Water Conservation District (FSWCD) held a successful Scrap Tire Amnesty Collection on Saturday.
“We collected 7,053 passenger tire equivalents,” said FSWCD Director Chet Murphy. “All tires were counted as their equivalent in passenger car tires. A semi-truck tire is equal to five passenger tires and a tractor tire may be as much as 15 or more. This was the first of several events planned in association with this program.”
FSWCD received a grant of $40,000 from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) to fund the Scrap Tire Amnesty Program. FSWCD added a cash match in the amount of $10,000. A $1 fee was charged for each tire, regardless of size.
The tires were subsequently hauled by Sundown Tire Recycling, an OEPA certified transporter, to their OEPA permitted recycling facility. There they convert the rubber in the tires into various products, such as tire derived fuel, playground mulch, or asphalt mixes. The steel cords are also removed for recycling. Some tire treads are sent to another company where they are joined together to make blasting mats. These mats are used by the military and demolition contractors to limit the amount of material being thrown through the air during the explosions. The cost to recycle all of the tires collected was $19,269.
This scrap tire amnesty is similar to FSWCD programs held in 2010, 2013 and 2016.
“To date, we have removed the equivalent of 62,000 passenger car tires from the streams, fields, forests, roadways and residences of Fayette County at a cost of $104,425. However, there is still more to be done,” said Murphy. “I encourage Fayette County residents to utilize this program to properly dispose of their unwanted tires. The next Scrap Tire Amnesty Collection is scheduled for Saturday, October 19. Tires on rims and rubber tractor tracks will be accepted. Pre-registration is required as the number of tires that can be accepted is limited. The August collection filled up and slots for the October event are filling quickly, so don’t delay in calling to register.”
Funding for this program is provided by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and Fayette Soil & Water Conservation District. Call the Fayette SWCD office at 740-636-0279 for more information or to register.
