Grant Money Allocated to Clean Up Tire Piles

The state of New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection has awarded Burlington County $200,000 to begin removing one of the largest collections of discarded tires in the state.

With an additional $50,000 from the county, the project aims to clear out nearly a quarter of the estimated one million tires scattered around the former Foster Farm in Tabernacle.

The county recycling coordinator, Ann Moore, who is directing the effort, estimated that "with decent weather" the cleanup would take three months.

Spokesman Fred Mumford said the DEP wanted first to address "the dangers to the community from the site." Then, he said, the agency will work with Tabernacle and the county to obtain some contribution from the Foster family, including putting liens on the property or establishing an open-space designation on the cleared part of the land.

The freeholder board, in filing for the DEP grant last year, called the collection one of the largest in the state.

Once removed, she said, the tires will be shredded into one-inch chips and will be available for a number of uses, including bedding on tracks and playgrounds and mulch.

The work is part of the county's campaign in the last year and a half to rid the county of discarded tires, said Ralph Schrom, spokesman for the freeholders. At least 65,000 tires have been collected, he said. Philadelphia Inquirer