PA Governor Says Pioneering Wast Tire Reuse Project Could Protect Environment, People
"We are always looking at ways to improve the quality of life in our communities," the Governor said. "By using these waste tires, we are working to clean up our environment at the same time we are using innovation to see if we can improve our rural roads.
"Through this demonstration project, we will see if easy-to-use, affordable tire-reuse technologies could be replicated across the commonwealth to enhance efforts to clean up the environment and improve the quality of life in rural communities."
Penn State University's Center for Dirt and Gravel Road Studies will use baled waste tires as a fill material to rebuild severely entrenched dirt and gravel roads, a common problem in rural communities. To create the bales, whole tires will be compacted into 2.5 x 4.5 x 5-feet cubes that weigh, approximately, one ton.
Penn State will use the tire bales as a fill base on portions of two roads in Madison and Greenwood townships, Columbia County. Drainage structures through the road base will allow sediment-bearing runoff to be dispersed to stable, vegetated areas of adjacent land, rather than flowing down the dirt roads and into streams.
Work on the project is expected to be complete this summer.
"This project holds the promise to turn environmental problems into opportunities for restoring Pennsylvania's natural beauty, protecting public health and improving the quality of life in communities across the state," said DEP Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty, who presented the funding to Penn State during a tour of the site Thursday.
Financing for the demonstration project comes from the Starr Waste Tire Reuse Grant Program. Administered by the Department of Environmental Protection, the program is another example of Governor Rendell's leadership in using environmental challenges to Pennsylvania's economic advantage.
The Penn State project is one of several efforts aimed at cleaning up the Starr Tire Pile in Greenwood Township, Columbia County, and finding beneficial uses for the estimated 6 million waste tires there.
Advantages for the Penn State project include the low cost of baling tires, their local reuse in the entrenched roads in nearby townships, and reduced road maintenance costs. Hazards associated with waste tire piles include fires, the leaching of potentially harmful chemicals and the creation of breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
DEP, with legislative support, has been seeking ways to hasten the removal of millions of waste tires in Pennsylvania. Processed tires can be used for high-value, end-use products, including mats, playground surfaces or carpet underlayments. Tires also can be used for fuel or civil engineering projects such as lightweight backfill for walls and bridge abutments or for approved on-lot septic system installations. Whole tires can be used for erosion control, crash barriers and artificial reefs.
For more information, visit DEP's Web site at www.depweb.state.pa.us, Keyword "Starr Tires."
SOURCE: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania