Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns announced that the state is awarding nearly $1.5 million to support 87 tire recycling projects across the state.
The announcement is being made earlier than in past years in hopes the elimination of tire piles will help protect against the spread of West Nile Virus.
“Through these grants, tons of useless old tires will ultimately be converted into new, useful products, such as soft, safer playground surfaces and an asphalt ingredient that makes our roads last longer,” Gov. Johanns said. “I urge grant recipients to act quickly in eliminating tire piles. By removing a common breeding ground for mosquitoes, these groups will not only be part of the recycling solution in our state, they will help to protect the public against the West Nile Virus.”
The grants are part of the Waste Reduction and Recycling Grants program, which is administered by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality. Typically, they are awarded in June when other recycling grants are announced. However, DEQ recognized the importance of releasing the tire grants as early as possible this year to support the reduction of scrap tire piles.
Mike Linder, DEQ director, said, “We are willing and eager to do whatever we can as an agency to help protect the public health. When we determined that releasing these grants early could have a very positive impact, we acted quickly to make it happen.”
The grants support both the collection of scrap tires and the purchase of new tire-derived products. Specifically, 27 of the grants, totaling more than $400,000, will support communities’ efforts to collect scrap tires in their region through “amnesty days.” At these events, people in the region are invited drop off their tires for recycling at no charge.
In the area of new products, 60 of the grants, totaling more than $1 million, will provide partial reimbursement for the purchase of crumb rubber and tire-derived products, such as playground surfaces, running tracks and artificial turf surfaces for soccer and football fields, and rubber-enhanced asphalt.