FSWCD Scrap tire amnesty completed

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Fayette Soil & Water Conservation District (FSWCD) held another Scrap Tire Amnesty Collection on Saturday.

“We collected 6,515 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 third and final of several events held 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 initially added a cash match in the amount of $10,000.

Demand for the program was so great, FSWCD added another $4,000 of local District funds to the program. Unfortunately, this additional money was still not enough to cover everyone who attempted to register. 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.

This scrap tire amnesty is similar to FSWCD programs held in 2010, 2013, and 2016.

“To date, we have removed the equivalent of 73,110 passenger car tires from the streams, fields, forests, roadways, and residences of Fayette County at a cost of $137,275. However, there is still more to be done.” said Murphy. “I want to thank all those who utilized this program to properly dispose of their unwanted tires and apologize to anyone whose registration we were not able to accept after the funding was exhausted. I also wish to thank the Fayette County Fair Board for their support. It takes a great deal of space to organize the vehicle line, unload, and temporarily store all of the tires. The fairgrounds lot has been a perfect location and the board has been gracious enough to allow us its use.”

Funding for this program was 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.

A line of vehicles waits to unload some of the 6,515 tires collected during Fayette SWCD’s Scrap Tire Amnesty.
https://www.recordherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2020/08/web1_20200815_111938.jpgA line of vehicles waits to unload some of the 6,515 tires collected during Fayette SWCD’s Scrap Tire Amnesty. Courtesy photo

The Record-Herald

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