New York Enacts Scrap Tire Program

New York State enacted a law geared toward cleaning up the scrap tires in the state. The law has been designed to create a scrap tire fund that will be used to process scrap tires, as well as developing end markets for the material.

According to The Rubber Manufacturers Association, the new law is long overdue to clean up the state's 40-50 million stockpiled scrap tires. It is estimated that New York generates an additional 20 million scrap tires a year.

"New York desperately needed an effective scrap tire program to clean up millions of old tires, which pose a safety and environmental problem," said Michael Blumenthal, RMA senior technical director. "This new law is a significant step toward addressing New York's scrap tire problem."

The new law creates a dedicated fee to fund scrap tire clean up efforts across the state and to help establish end use markets for scrap tires. A $2.50 fee will be collected at point-of-purchase for all new tires sold. An additional $2.50 per-tire fee (including the spare tire) will be assessed on purchasers of new vehicles bought in the state.

The new fees take effect on October 1 and are expected to raise $28 million through March 31, 2004. Beginning April 1, 2004, the fees are expected to generate $56 million annually. Only part of those funds will be directed to a new scrap tire fund. Through March 31, 2004, $8.125 million will be put into the fund and $16.25 million will be available annually for scrap tire activities beginning April 1, 2004.

"A much greater percentage of the fees paid by consumers in this bill will go directly to address a significant environmental problem in New York," Blumenthal said. "Additionally, the fees are scheduled to end when this law sunsets in 2010."