King County Procurement Bulletin #31:
Tires Galore - ITRA Expo

• Introduction
• Tire Facts
• International Tire and Rubber Association Expo
• For More Information
• Environmental Purchasing Program

Introduction

According to the Scrap Tire Management Council (STMC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), people in the United States generate approximately one waste tire per person, per year. In Washington State alone, that amounts to almost six million scrap tires each year.

These tires are problematic for landfills because they push (or rise) to the surface over time and pop out, disrupting surface layers. This can allow more water to penetrate into the fill where it can become contaminated rather than running off as uncontaminated surface water. Instead of landfilling tires, which is banned in most states, tire-processors are producing a number of useful products from waste tires, including fill, playground cover, soil amendments, and flooring/matting.

Today's bulletin includes some tire facts and highlights The International Tire and Rubber Association 1999 Expo, which has several tire and rubber recycling workshops available to learn more about tire issues, such as the use of scrap tires in civil engineering, tire recycling and regulations.

Tire Facts

According to Scrap Tire Management Council:

• Number of scrap tires generated annually (1996): 266 million
• Number of scrap tires in stock piles: 800 million
• Number of scrap tires used for fuel (1996): 152.5 million
• Scrap tires used in civil engineering applications (1996): 10 million
• Number of scrap tires exported (1996): 15 million
• Number of states with scrap tires legislation/regulations: 48
• Btu's per pound of scrap tire rubber: 15,000
• Number of states that ban whole tires from landfills: 35
• Number of states with a scrap tire fee: 34
• Percentage of scrap tires that are passenger car tires: 84
• Oil (equivalency) in a passenger car tire: 7 gallons

International Tire and Rubber Association Expo

The International Tire and Rubber Association is holding it's annual Expo in Nashville, Tennessee June 10-12, 1999. It will feature a workshop on "Civil Engineering Applications of Tire Shreds" presented by Dr. Dana Humphrey, Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Maine.

Following is some information about their tire and rubber recycling workshops that will be held during this conference:

Civil Engineering Applications of Tire Shreds - How to Make This Part of Your Business

Session Leader: Dr. Dana N. Humphrey, Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Maine, TRRAC

Use of tire shreds in civil engineering applications are expanding rapidly. Engineers are specifying tire shreds because they need their special properties. This half-day session will show how tire shreds can answer users engineering problems. The presentation will be illustrated with case histories of projects using tire shreds as lightweight fill for highway embankments, lightweight backfill for retaining walls and bridge abutments, thermal insulation to limit the depth of frost penetration beneath roads, drainage layers for roads and leachate collection layers for landfills. This will include design guidelines and construction tips that Dr. Humphrey has developed for the nine projects he has constructed. The potential effects of tire shreds on groundwater quality will be discussed (negligible for most applications) along with guidelines to prevent problems with self-heating of tire shred fills.

The following topics will be addressed:

• Why Civil Engineers Want to Use Tire Shreds

• Example Projects: Tire Shreds as Lightweight Fill and as Drainage for Landfills

• Technical and Other Considerations - Environmental

- Guidelines to Prevent Self Heating of Tire and Shred Fills

- How to Produce What Civil Engineers Need

• Industry Panel

- Materials Producer Perspective

- General Contractor Perspective

 

From Factory Scrap to Finished Product

Session Leader: John Weyand, Vice President, Erickson Materials, TRRAC

Techniques for recycling tire rubber into finished products.

 

Are You Up to Standard?

Session Leaders: Mary Sikora, Publisher, Scrap Tire News, TRRAC; Tiffany Hughes, ART, TRRAC

What methods to use in testing crumb rubber?

Regulations certifications, codes

 

A Road Map for Introducing Asphalt Rubber in Your State

Session Leader: Michael Harrington, Marketing Director, CRM, TRRAC

Representatives from RPA, the Tennessee DOT and crumb processors will outline an approach to implement this technology in your state.

A tour of a rubberized asphalt section of pavement recently installed on one of Nashville's major highways is planned.

 

Networking: Tricks of the Trade

Session Leader: David Forrester, President, TIRES Inc., ITRA TRRAC

Interact with industry experts.

 

Viewpoints on Tire Recycling from Brazil and Europe

Session Leader: Valerie Shulnian, Executive Secretary, European Tire Recycling Association (invited)

Information on how other governments regulate tire recycling activities and how their business counterparts balance regulatory and market obstacles regionally, nationally and globally.

For More Information

International Tire and Rubber Association
(800)426-8835 or(502)968-8900

 

Scrap Tire Management Council

Council is part of:
Rubber Manufacturers Association
1400 K Street, NW - Washington, DC, 20005
telephone (202) 682-4800 / fax (202) 682-4854

 

Scrap Tire News

 

King County Environmental Purchasing Bulletin #27:
Scrap Tires in Civil Engineering Applications

 

Civil Engineering Applications of Scrap Tires: An emerging market
Resource Recycling Magazine

Environmental Purchasing Program

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