Tires wanted

Published 10:11 am Friday, May 2, 2008

By Staff
BERRIEN COUNTY- The Spring Tire Recycling Collection will take place on Thursday, May 8 from 3-7 p.m. and Friday, May 9 from 7:30-11:30 a.m. at the County Road Commission site on Yore Ave. near the corner with Napier Ave. in Benton Township (the third gate from Napier Ave).
The collection is open to Berrien County residents only and sponsored by Berrien County Resource Recovery.
The fee to recycle tires is $1 per tire, $2 if it is still on the rim; $5 for semi-truck tires and $10 for oversize and loader tires. If residents plan to bring in oversize tires, they must call 983-7111 ext. 8234 by May 7, 2008. The fees partially offset costs of the collection, transportation, and processing of the tires, with the remainder paid for using the County Landfill Use Fund. Even when getting tires changed at a tire dealer, customers are usually charged with a disposal or recycling fee. Tires collected at the county sponsored collections will be recycled by Deerpath Recyclers of Dowagiac.
"Th County Tire Recycling Collections provide residents with a low cost, easy way to properly recycle scrap tires, keeping tires out of our natural areas and returning the material back into use," says Jill Adams, Berrien County Environmental Specialist.
In 2003, the annual scrap tire generation rate was 233 million tires, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Whole scrap tires are prohibited from disposal of in landfills. If the tires are cut properly, they are able to be disposed of in landfills, but then the materials are no longer available to make new products. If tires are stock piled or illegally dumped, they can become breeding grounds for rodents and mosquitoes. Stockpiles are also a concern because scrap tire fires are difficult to extinguish, produce thick, black smoke and potentially contaminate the soil.
Scrap tires can be recycled and reused in many ways. They can be used as fuel; used in engineering projects; converted into ground rubber for recreational areas or rubberized asphalt; made into rubber mulch for gardens; retread and sold for reuse; and recycled into cut, stamped, or punched products.
A fall tire collection will be held on Sept. 4 and 5 in Three Oaks. More information can be obtained by calling 983-7111 ext. 8234 or at the county web site, www.berriencounty.org/recycle