South Carolina county selects Liberty Tire Recycling for cleanup project

Berkeley County, South Carolina, officials have awarded a contract to Liberty Tire Recycling, Pittsburgh, to clean up a tire recycling site for a price of $239 per ton, a report by WCIV says. The cleanup has a 10-month projected time frame.

The abandoned Viva tire recycling site in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, currently houses an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 tires. According to the report, the site got attention from South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster after aerial footage depicting heaps of tires on the facility and inside trailers on the property was shown.

McMaster sent the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), Columbia, South Carolina, a letter asking for action to be taken. The report says the DHEC estimated the site had at least 222,000 tires on-site, but McMaster estimated that number had tripled in his letter.

The DHEC granted $2 million for the project, the report says, which pays for the removal of 8,300 tires. Berkeley County Council Chairman Ken Gunn said in a Facebook post that if there are more tires than that, the issue of additional funding will be addressed at that time.

Berkeley County landfill scales will tare and weigh all trucks hauling the tires and spot inspections will be conducted to ensure water is removed from the tires when loading to determine correct tonnage, the report says.