Mid-Atlantic Municipal Solid Waste

States and municipalities throughout Region 3 are working to actively address the growing scrap tire problem in the Mid-Atlantic. Recent projects include:

• Discarded Tire Removal in Western Pennsylvania — Region 3 awarded a grant to PA CleanWays a nonprofit organization fighting illegal dumping and littering in Pennsylvania, to educate youth on improper disposal of waste tires and conduct clean ups of illegally dumped tires. In 2002, PA CleanWays reported that 369 volunteers removed 6,195 tires in 2,004 volunteer hours. A number of sponsorships and in-kind support from 14 tire dealers paid for the tire disposal allowing PA CleanWays to leverage EPA funds for further tire clean up efforts.
• Removal and Disposal of Illegally Dumped Tires in Philadelphia — Region 3 awarded the city of Philadelphia $30,000 from the Regional Administrator's Discretionary Fund to have the Streets Department work with 20 neighborhood block captains and 17 community groups and civic organizations to collect illegally dumped tires. A total of 10,573 tires was collected and sent to the American Ref-Fuel plant in Chester, Pennsylvania, where they were incinerated and used to produce electricity. The neighborhood groups were reimbursed at a rate of $1.00 for every two tires collected.
  
  
• Mid-Atlantic Regional Scrap Tire Conference — In 2002, the Maryland Department of the Environment, in cooperation with the Scrap Tire Management Council, held the Mid-Atlantic Regional Scrap Tire Conference in Annapolis, Maryland. Topics included the use of scrap tires as fuel in cement kilns, paper mills and industrial boilers; in playgrounds, landfills, septic fields; and in rubber modified asphalt for roads. West Nile virus implications from mosquitoes living in tire stockpiles was also discussed, and information about Chataqua, New York's effort to bale over 5 million bald tires for use as road bedding was presented.
  
  
• Tire Pile Cleanup in Pennsylvania — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, with the help of county and local governments, recently completed the cleanup of three large scrap tire piles which contained a total of over 3.2 million tires. All three piles had been the source of much controversy due to the hazards they posed as a fire threat and a health threat (mosquito breeding), and their proximity to populated areas.

For additional information on scrap tires, visit EPA's national scrap tire management Web site. Other resources include the Scrap Tire Management Council, the Tire Retread Information Bureau, and Scrap Tire News. Links to these Web sites are available through the national scrap tires Web site - list of resources.

For more information:

EPA Region 3
Mike Giuranna, U.S. EPA Region 3, Solid Waste Program
1650 Arch Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-2029
Phone: (215) 814-3298
E-mail: giuranna.mike@epa.gov

State Contacts