Nebraska Court Decision Ends Scrap Tire Use in State

The Nebraska Supreme Court rejected an argument by a scrap tire handler in the state that using the scrap tires for civil engineering applications was a recycling effort, essentially halting the operations of the company.

Central States Tire Recycling, Wisner, Neb., was marketing a baled scrap tire called Enviro-Blocks that were used to control soil erosion, as well as provide fill material in land reclamation projects.

The court rejected arguments from Central States Tire that bales it makes from ground-up tires are not an environmental threat and therefore free from regulation.

Bill Minder, owner of the company, said the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality has done an about-face after years of allowing his tire bales to be used in projects.

The company said that more than half of the scrap tires in Nebraska that have been recycled since 1994 have been made into Enviro-Blocks and used in projects across the state.

But the company said DEQ began dragging its feet over allowing the scrap tire bales to be used on other projects after 2000.

Nebraska prohibits disposing of scrap tires in landfills, but they can be used as construction material in building landfills or as a substitute for daily cover instead of dirt.

Assistant Attorney General Jodi Fenner argued that Central States was not following the conditions outlined in its state permit authorizing the company to collect, store and process scrap tires.

The court noted that Central States received approval for using the bales on land it owns.

"The question ... is whether Central States' product, the Enviro-Block, is a tire-derived product or merely a scrap tire that has been shaped into a new physical form," wrote Judge John Wright. "If it is a scrap tire, it is subject to regulation by DEQ."

The Nebraska Administrative Code and the state Waste Reduction Act define a scrap tire as "a tire that is no longer suitable for its original intended purpose because of wear, damage, or defect."

A "tire-derived product" is defined in law as a "usable product produced from a scrap tire. Tire-derived product does not include ... baled tires."

"The Enviro-blocks are still baled tires, and for purposes of the Waste Reduction Act, baled tires are not included within the definition of a 'tire-derived product,' " Wright said.

"Although Enviro-Blocks may be useful in a variety of engineering applications, they remain compressed bales of scrap tires," he said. "They are an environmental threat and are subject to regulation." Omaha (Nebraska) World Herald