The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is moving forward to reestablish its scrap tire program. The state's Waste Tire Fee previously expired Jan. 1, 2004. Starting this October, retailers will collect a $.50 fee for every new tire purchased in Missouri. The scrap tire fee will generate about $2.1 million a year.
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The 2005 Missouri General Assembly passed Senate Bill 225 in May. Missouri’s Governor Matt Blunt then signed the bill into law. It will go into effect Aug. 28.
Senate Bill 225 includes a Missouri vendor preference that provides a competitive advantage to Missouri businesses that participate in tire site cleanups. The bill also gives the director of the Department of Natural Resources authority to use scrap tire funds for public health, environmental and safety projects in response to environmental emergencies such as tire fires.
"The department's waste tire program was one of the top ten in the nation," said Doyle Childers, director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. "The department is ecstatic to see the state's scrap tire fee renewed and being able to reestablish the scrap tire program."
The department will continue to use the money generated from the fee to clean up scrap tires from Missouri's landscapes and countryside. In addition, the department will provide grants to communities for recycled rubber playground surfaces, support educational outreach opportunities and reestablish staff to administer, investigate and enforce the states' scrap tire efforts.
The Scrap Tire Fee is set to expire Jan. 1, 2010. The department will report the status of the tire cleanups to the General Assembly by Jan. 1, 2009 so they may consider renewal options for the fee.
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