Subjects
In 1990, there were approximately 3 billion stockpiled tires, and
187.8 million scrap tires being disposed of annually. The recovery rate
for scrap tires was only 17.4%1).
The
environmental problems associated with landfilling and stockpiling,
discussed in the previous chapter, received nation-wide attention. Law
enforcement with regard to waste tire management was discussed, and technological
studies related to tire recycling were conducted.
It was announced in 1997 that, by the end of 1999, a 90% waste tire
recovery rate would be reached2).
In 1998, the most recent reported recovery rate was 60.2%, and stockpiles
had been reduced to 500 million3).
Waste tire management has been considered as one of the most successful
solid waste control programs in the United States.
However, the data also indicate some recent regression of waste tire
recycling. As shown in next section, the recovery rate has decreased from
70% in 1996 to 60% in 1998. This shows that current recycling management
and technology are not perfect.
This chapter will mainly discuss the development of waste tire recycling
technology from 1990 to 1999. This discussion will include the advantages
and disadvantages of each current technology as well as recent progress
and future prospects of each technology. State laws, financial incentives
and enforcement have all played an extremely important roll in making progress.
This chapter includes a discussion of the progress of state or government
level programs and documents some prominent examples of state programs
or actions.
References