Our limited review of Utah's waste tire recycling program found that Utah's
prior legislation was unsuccessful because it lacked sufficient regulatory
control in conjunction with adequate incentives to develop recycled tire
markets. Creating interest in tire recycling through an adequate subsidy
program and regulating alternatives to tire recycling, such as landfilling whole
tires, can effectively address waste tire problems. There appears to be
sufficient demand for waste tires as fuel in Utah's cement industry to utilize
the supply of tires disposed each year and also address existing tire piles and
landfills.
Waste tire disposal is recognized as a national
environmental problem. Tire characteristics make them unsuitable for landfill
operations where tires are prone to fires and vermin infestation. Waste tires
do, however, lend themselves to recycling because there is a retrievable value
in waste tires, primarily as a fuel source. A number of states have
successfully addressed waste tire recycling but we could find no consensus as to
how a program is best operated. Each of the programs we reviewed does have some
commonality of components. Most states utilize some form of incentive either in
the form of a direct per tire subsidy or in the form of a grant or loan
providing seed money or program support. Additionally, each state we contacted
regulates its market to direct tires toward recycling and away from landfills
and tire piles.
Our review of waste tire recycling costs in Utah found that between 38
and 78 cents per tire is necessary to collect, process, and dispose of waste
tires as alternative fuel. Utah's existing program provided for these funds by
subsidizing 20 cents per tire from state collected waste tire fees, 15 to 25
cents per tire from tire retailers, and 12 to 16 cents per tire from the
ultimate user (cement kiln operator) for a total of 47 to 61 cents per tire.
This level of funding appeared to be sufficient to cover the cost of processing
waste tires, a cost we estimate to be between 23 and 37 cents per tire.
While this level of funding might have been sufficient, the program did not
offer any protection from competition for waste tires from landfills.
Currently, tire transporters accept payment from tire retailers to dispose of
waste tires. They must then pay either a recycling operation or a landfill to
take the tires from them, landfills can accept the tires for far less than
recycling operations who need that money to defray the cost of processing the
waste tires.
Utahns discard over 1.6 million tires each year and, as
a state, we have accumulated an additional 5 million tires. We believe that
legislation to control waste tires is necessary. In addition to a subsidy, any
legislation should ban whole tires from landfills and require participant
registration and material manifesting to ensure tires are recycled.