Tennessee issues $2.8 million in scrap tire grants

June 27, 2012
By Tire Business staff reports

The state of Tennessee has granted 41 Tennessee communities more than $2.8 million in 2013-14 to help recycle tires and keep them out of landfills.

The grants are supported from the state's Solid Waste Management Fund, which receives revenue from a predisposal fee on the purchase of new tires.

Tennessee estimates it recycles 55,000 tons of tires per year, diverting waste tires from landfills and sending them to beneficial end-use facilities, according to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (T-DEC).

Beneficial end-use methods include using tire-derived aggregate in civil engineering projects, crumb rubber for asphalt paving and molded rubber products. The majority of Tennessee's waste tires are used as tire-derived fuel.

"Working with our local county partners is vital to the success of this program," Gov. Bill Haslam said. "The Solid Waste Management Fund continues to provide support to Tennessee's communities, assisting in the diversion of waste tires from landfills for the benefit of the environment."

The General Assembly authorized waste tire grants in the Solid Waste Management Act of 1991. The grants assist counties with the processing and transportation of tires to beneficial end-use facilities.

Counties are reimbursed $1 per eligible tire and are required to provide at least one waste tire collection site; counties may charge an additional fee if the grant is not adequate to cover costs, the T-DEC said.

The fund is administered by the T-DEC, and $1.25 from the $1.35 predisposal fee collected is used to supplement the counties' costs for waste tire recycling and services.

The grants issued range from $1,700 in Clay County to $300,000 for a three county grouping (Carter Johnson, Sullivan, Union) nown as the Washington Hub.

"Tennessee's tire recycling program provides an environmentally sound disposal method, and it's important that communities continue to focus on waste reduction as part of their overall waste management plan," added Conservation Commissioner Bob Martineau.

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