Tire Pick Up Program Ends
Monumental amount of tires head to recycling plant
Release Date: April 2, 2007
Release Number: 1603-617
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NEW ORLEANS, La. -- A total of 259,000 tires were removed from the state of Louisiana since the tire pick up program was launched a year ago. If laid side-by-side, the tires would stretch 147 miles or about the distance between New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama.
The curbside tire pick up project ended on March 31, 2007 after U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) contractors cleared storm-related tires from all the affected areas in the state, excluding St. Bernard Parish, announced the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today. Plaquemines Parish partially participated in the program. The tire pick up mission was directed by FEMA and executed by USACE.
The tires, which became debris after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, were collected from right of ways, streets and in front of residents’ homes. The largest amount of tires, 62 percent or 160,000, came from Orleans Parish, followed by five percent or 14,000 in Jefferson Parish. The majority of tires in Orleans Parish came from three areas that suffered the most devastation by the storm: Gentilly, New Orleans East and the Lower 9th Ward.
The tire pick up program cost FEMA more than $5.2 million, with $3 million of that amount going toward the Orleans Parish tire pick up program. Tires from commercial shops were excluded from the project.
“The tire removal program was another success story in our efforts to remove hazards from our neighborhoods,” said Michael Park, director of the USACE Louisiana Recovery Field Office.
The tires are part of a recycling success story. They are being recycled by Colt Incorporated, a waste tire processor, at its headquarters in Scott, Lafayette Parish. Here, the tires continue to be shredded into 3-inch pieces and delivered throughout Louisiana. According to Bill Vincent, CEO of Colt Incorporated, various paper mills and cement plants use this rubber for fuel. Civil engineering companies also use it as an aggregate to build environmentally safe landfills.
“By recycling the tires, we properly removed potential health and safety threats and environmental risks that might have developed if the tires had been disposed of in vacant lots,” said Eddie Williams, FEMA’s debris and demolition group lead. “Tires would have become grounds for mosquito infestation from standing rainwater and safety hazards to kids playing in recovering neighborhoods.”
In addition, mounds of improperly disposed tires could have contributed to a rodent infestation or fire risks.
As with the tires from the curbside tire pick up program, USACE contractors continue to properly dispose of other debris under the household waste program, mostly funded by FEMA.
“We have processed over 5 million pieces of hazardous household waste, ranging from aerosols, refrigerants and paints, to propane tanks and large drums,” said Park. “Other items recycled included white goods such as refrigerators, e-waste in the form of a variety of electronic systems, and gasoline engines.”
FEMA coordinates the federal government’s role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
Last Modified: Monday, 02-Apr-2007 16:56:37