Massive piles of old tyres that have been posing a fire threat in Alvo, Nebraska, are now in compliance with safety regulations, according the Nebraska Department of Energy and Environment.
State Concerns Relieved as Nebraska Dump is Cleared
In April the state gave the owners until September first to get the number of tyres down to 160,000. At one point there were more than 320,000 tyres piled up in the small town.
In a report released September 13 the officials note the number of tyres had been reduced to 143,000 in late August. Larry Langer, of LAL Enterprises said the number has dropped even more since to less than 120,000 tyres.
We shred them and sometimes we had three trucks hauling them to David City, most of the time just one but he hauled steady,” said Langer, who along with his partner, own the businesses running the recycling site.
“This machine shreds 2,500 tyres an hour, we might bring in 2,000 tyres a day, so in one hour we’ll shred everything we bring in in the future,” said Langer, noting they fell way behind last year when they couldn’t locate a new shredder.
Now that they have one, he said they will have no problem keeping up.
“Our intention is not to have any tyres on the ground. That’s the intention down the road,” said Langer.
Until then, worried residents said it is not enough. “The tyres, if anything happened, if they caught fire we’d have to move,” said local resident Dennis Templemeyer.
Langer’s son is set to take over the business in October and also wants to work the piles down to nothing.
“He says he wants it down to no tyres, that would be fantastic,” said Templetmeyer. “That could be a goal we could agree on.”
The state said they will continue to monitor the tyre facility in Alvo and re-inspect it by the end of the year. The owners are also providing the state with weekly updates on the reduction of the tyre piles.
Source: 1011 Now
