EGLE Scrap Tire Program cleans up more than 287,000 scrap tyres in a year
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) Scrap Tire Program cleaned up the equivalent of 287,377 passenger tyres in 2022.
Scrap tyres can be hazardous to the environment and public health if not properly managed. Runoff from tyre fires can contaminate water, and scrap tyre sites are an ideal habitat for the breeding of mosquitoes carrying diseases such as West Nile Virus.
In Michigan, it is illegal to dispose of whole motor vehicle tyres in a landfill. EGLE’s Scrap Tire Program regulates proper disposal, transportation, and storage, as well as cleanup of existing scrap piles of 500 tyres or more. Scrap tyre transporters and collection sites must register annually, and programme staff regularly inspect scrap tyre collection sites, processors, end users, and generators, including tyre dealers and auto scrap yards.
The 2022 cleanups involved $610,631 in grants. For the cleanup and recycling of tyres determined to have been dumped or collected after 1991 on private sites, grants are subject to repayment.
In the October 2021-September 2022 fiscal year, the program tallied 353 inspections related to collection sites, haulers, retailers, grants, and complaints. It issued registrations to 139 haulers and 48 collection sites.
EGLE also awarded 105 scrap tyre cleanup grants, including 10 carried forward from previous years. Five private site grants carried over to FY 2023. EGLE has approved 90 applications for 2023 cleanup grants.
