Warren County in Tennessee has received a notable boost to its environmental efforts with a $362,527 grant aimed at improving scrap tire management. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) announced the grant, sourced from the state's Tire Environmental Act Program, which was matched by Warren County's own funds of $90,632, bringing the total project expenditure to $453,159.
Greg Young, TDEC Deputy Commissioner, highlighted the intent of the grant stating, “The Tire Environmental Act Program provides ways to retrieve old tires and repurpose them into community assets”. The project will enable substantial headway in the cleanup of illegal dump sites littered with discarded tires and aims to mitigate potential health risks for the local population. Presently, Warren County recycles approximately 700 tons of scrap tires annually, and the additional funding from the grant will go toward purchasing new equipment to bolster these efforts, according to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
In recognition of the need for widespread community involvement, Warren County plans to spearhead a public education campaign with an emphasis on proper tire disposal. This initiative is slated to engage school systems and leverage social media platforms to reach a broader audience.
The fundamental objective behind the state's Tire Environmental Fund, established in 2015, is to support projects that foster beneficial uses for waste tires. The fund accrues from a flat fee assessed at the first retail sale of a new motor vehicle in Tennessee, based on the number of the vehicle’s wheels. Since its inception, nearly $9.2 million in grants have been dispensed, and this has facilitated the diversion of upwards of 7.6 million tires, approximately 82,000 tons, from landfills to productive uses such as rubberized asphalt and tire-derived fuel.
