JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Jan. 25, 2011)—More than 16 million scrap tires have been removed from Missouri thanks to the state's 20-year scrap tire abatement effort, according to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
A total of 983 scrap tire dumps have been cleaned up since the state's scrap tire cleanup began, the DNR said in a new release. More than 231,000 tires remain in 185 known sites, and the agency estimates there are 500,000 further tires in unknown dumps.
Missouri's scrap tire cleanup efforts are funded by a 50-cent fee on each new tire sold in the state. The Missouri legislature allowed the fee to lapse in January 2004, but renewed it in August 2005. During that interruption, nearly 500,000 tires were dumped illegally in the state because inspection and enforcement had ceased, the DNR said.
The agency said it is active in finding profitable end-uses for scrap tires. In 2009 alone, some 1.75 million tires were used as tire-derived fuel in power plants and cement kilns, it said. Also, the DNR is working with the Missouri Department of Transportation to promote the use of crumb rubber from scrap tires in asphalt for the state's road projects.
The agency's most recent scrap tire innovation was its Tire Dump Roundup Program. Instituted in 2006, the program allows for the cleanup of dumps containing between 500 and 10,000 tires without the state seeking reimbursement. Active businesses and prior program recipients are not eligible for the program.