Columbus to Get Tire Recycling Facility

An agreement announced last week between the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio and Landstar Inc. means the Columbus’s vacant trash-burning plant may once again produce revenue.

SWACO director Mike Long and Elroy Fimrite, president and chief executive officer of Landstar Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz., announced last week that a memorandum of understanding has been signed to convert the facility to a tire-recycling operation.

"For too many years, taxpayers have borne the cost of the plant's debt," Long said. "Finally, we have found someone who will pay us and still make money as they use the facility."

The plant has been vacant since December 1994, when it was closed due to environmental and financial concerns. The city of Columbus owns the plant, but SWACO is under lease as the operator. The city still owes approximately $105-million to bond-holders. SWACO is obligated to make lease payments in the amount of $128.4-million to the city.

Under the new agreement, Landstar will make a $6-million payment to SWACO by March 31, 2003. Long said SWACO will apply the money toward the lease payments owed to the city. SWACO will also collect $5 per ton on tires delivered to the facility.

Fimrite said his company owns the North American rights to a technology that creates a new raw material called "activated modified rubber," which can be used in vulcanized products. The plant is expected to require no special permits from the Environmental Protection Agency, as the process is considered a "zero-emissions" one, Fimrite said.

"We're not just talking about recycling rubber back into something that doesn't have any value in the community," he said. "The intent to build a rubber recovery plant is the first step in a long evolution process."

Fimrite said Landstar has operated a pilot plant in Dayton for the past three years.

"We have proven the technology works," he said.

About 70 percent of rubber is used by the automotive industry, Fimrite said. The tire-recycling facility will produce rubber products that can be used in construction, playground equipment and athletic surfaces.

"Our technology will allow us not only to recover the rubber from tires, but the rubber from industrial scrap and waste," Fimrite said.

He said he expects Landstar to eventually recycle 10-million tires a year at the Columbus facility. Abandoned tires from the Columbus community will be accepted at the plant free of charge, and there will be no outside storage of tires at the facility, Long said.

"We also believe there will be no dust issues, no noise issues and no significant traffic issues," Long said.

He said having a tire-recycling operation in central Ohio will help alleviate fire hazards, mosquito problems and other environmental issues around the state that stem from discarded tires.

"This is a great deal for everyone," Long said. "There is a new use for the old plant, which helps pay off the debt; the process will help eliminate a major source of pollution, new jobs are created and we gain an environmentally responsible neighbor for the South Side of Columbus."

Long said SWACO gathered input from area civic groups in planning the new use for the facility and is making an effort to inform the community about its intended use.

"What SWACO has done is made a general outreach to South Side neighbors. We've attended a lot of community meetings," Long said. "We plan to visit the Landstar pilot plant in Dayton and take South Side neighbors with us."

He said the tour will take place on Oct. 16. SWACO is also in the process of putting together a briefing book to distribute to 250 residents who live near the facility, Long added, and will continue to distribute information at meetings of civic and community groups.

Fimrite said Landstar first looked at the facility three years ago as a potential site for the tire-recycling operation.

"There's a lot of infrastructure that can save us some time in putting the facility together," he said. "One of the reasons we like this facility is the facility is built up, nine stories tall. With this facility, we believe we can start the (recycling) process at the top and use a gravity feed as it moves down."

With the memorandum of understanding, "what we've done is set down the framework to open this facility," he said.

Long said the agreement with Landstar replaces a similar proposal with Morro Bay, Calif.-based Universal Purifying Technology Co. that SWACO announced in May.

"This project is different from others that we looked at because we're requiring an up-front payment," Long said. "The other projects involved a low up-front payment and a royalty payment."

Landstar also plans to move its research facilities to Columbus. Fimrite said the company plans to employ 50 initially, but plans call for Landstar to eventually have a Columbus workforce of 200.

The memorandum of understanding proposes a 50-year lease with a 50-year renewal option. Fimrite said the facility's opening date will depend on the company's ability to secure loans, grants and other financing. The memorandum of understanding must also be approved by Landstar's board, SWACO's board, Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman and Columbus City Council.

Fimrite said Landstar is in the process of putting together an engineering team that will determine what conversions need to be made to the former waste-to-energy facility and how much the conversions will cost. He added that he anticipates bringing the memorandum of understanding before Landstar's board within the next 30 to 40 days.

SWACO spokesman John Remy said no definite time frame has been set for sending the memorandum of understanding to the city for approval. – www.thisweeknews.com