NEWS FROM THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL

April 21, 2009
Vol. 39, No. 176

For more information contact, Laurene Eheman, Solid and Hazardous Waste Branch, 302-739-9403; or Melanie Rapp, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

 

                         30 Tons of Scrap Tires Collected for Recycling
                                     More than 300 Delawareans Participated in Drop-off Event

More than 30 tons of scrap tires will soon find a “new life” as rubber mulch or playground surface materials thanks to 300 Delawareans who participated in DNREC’s Scrap Tire Drop-off event on April 18.

According to Laurene Eheman, administrative manager with DNREC’s Solid and Hazardous Waste Branch, approximately 2,400 scrap tires were collected at the Delaware State Fairgrounds in Harrington on Saturday. “The tires will be shredded and recycled into useful products that will benefit our communities,” said Eheman. “We were pleased that so many people were willing to participate in our event, and we hope to hold another scrap tire collection in New Castle County in the fall.”

Saturday’s Scrap Tire Drop-off Day was the second drop-off event. At the first event held last October, 1,600 scrap tires were collected from about 100 Delaware residents at the Delaware Solid Waste Authority’s Route 5 Transfer Station near Harbeson.

DNREC’s Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Branch manages the state program created to eliminate large, unsightly scrap tire piles that can pose hazards to human health and the environment. Tire piles can spawn dangerous fires that produce toxic smoke, and the oily liquid runoff from melted tires can pollute groundwater. In addition, tire piles can be breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which can carry the West Nile virus.

Delaware produces more than 750,000 scrap tires a year. While many of these tires are recycled or properly disposed, some end up in stockpiles or in illegal dumps around the state. The state program helps defray the cost of cleanup of scrap tire piles created before June 30, 2006 and comprising more than 100 tires.

The Delaware Scrap Tire Cleanup and Control Program is funded by a state fee of $2 per tire on the sale of new tires. Enacted Jan. 1, 2007, the fee is diverted to the Scrap Tire Management Fund, a matching fund and program created to clean up existing scrap tire piles statewide.

For more information visit DNREC’s website, www.dnrec.delaware.gov/whs/awm/Info/Pages/ScrapTire.aspx  or contact the Scrap Tire Control and Cleanup Program at 302-739-9403.