Scrap Tire Removal Work Begins in Ohio

Contractors have begun removing an estimated 1.5 million whole scrap tires from the McMasters scrap tire site in Portage County, Ohio. Work at the illegal dump is being conducted by Liberty Tire Services of Ohio, under contract with Ohio EPA. The project is expected to be completed within 16 months.

As part of the removal, Liberty will either process the tires on-site or haul the whole tires to a mobile scrap tire recovery facility located at its scrap tire monofill. After processing, the shredded tires will be transported to A & L Salvage, Inc., a construction and demolition debris landfill near Lisbon, in Columbiana County, for use in the new cell construction for the leachate collection system at the landfill.

Ohio EPA awarded the contract for tire removal to Liberty after approving a $2,097,650 bid for the work. In addition, a separate contract with Fostoria Metro Aviation for mosquito spraying at the McMasters and Kirby sites has been in effect since July 1, 2003.

State-funded scrap tire abatement projects are supported by a $1 fee collected for each new tire sold in Ohio. In addition, $1 million is allocated annually from the scrap tire fund to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Litter Control and Recycling, to provide financial assistance to businesses and solid waste management districts, which team up to recycle scrap tires. Ohio EPA is responsible for administering the scrap tire fund for scrap tire removal projects. Under Ohio law, Ohio EPA is required to award the scrap tire removal contract based on proposals to reuse or recycle the scrap tires.