Illinois EPA removes used tires in East St. Louis and St. Clair County

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Director Alec Messina has announced that tire removal actions in the Metro East St. Louis region have been completed. The Illinois EPA says these actions are part of its efforts to assist local governments in providing and maintaining a healthy environment by removing used tires from public and abandoned properties.

“This program is a success thanks to the coordinated efforts of our local government partners,” Messina says. “These collections are necessary to remove the hazards of used tires from our communities.”

In total, more than 288 tons—nearly 23,000 used tires—were collected in St. Clair County. The St. Clair County Health Department sponsored a tire collection event at an Illinois Department of Transportation property in Lebanon. Monroe County Highway Department and Monroe County Road District brought collected tires to this location.

A separate collection area was set up in East St. Louis to assist that city with its collection. In East St. Louis alone, 162.76 tons of used tires were collected, the Illinois EPA reports.

Government entities participating in the St. Clair County Collection included Belleville, Cahokia, Caseyville, Caseyville Township, Centreville, Centreville Township, Columbia, Dupo, Englemann Township, Fairmont City, Fairview Heights, Fayetteville Township, Freeburg Township, Illinois Department of Transportation, Lebanon Road District, Marissa, Mascoutah, Millstadt Township, Monroe County Highway, Monroe County Road District, New Athens Township, Prairie DuPont Levee District, Shiloh, Smithton Township, St. Clair County, St. Clair County Clean Sweep, St. Clair County Highway, St. Clair County Road District, St. Libory, Sugar Loaf Township, Swansea and Washington Park.

Units of local government assist in the coordination of the collections, which allows the Illinois EPA to collect and properly dispose of the tires that have been collected from public properties, including roadsides, public parks and abandoned sites.

Through the Used Tire Program, used tires are properly disposed of at a registered, commercial used tire processing facility in Illinois. Some tires are retreaded and reused, while others are recycled into a variety of products and uses. Most of the collected tires are processed into a high-energy fuel supplement known as tire-derived fuel and are burned in power plants, industrial boilers or cement kilns for energy recovery.

The Illinois EPA's Used Tire Program is funded by a $2.50 per tire fee that consumers pay when purchasing tires at retail.