Scrap tire recovery rates up, stockpiles down, study finds

Dec. 5 --

U.S. scrap tire recovery rates are increasing while stockpiles are decreasing due to state cleanup laws and growing markets for crumb rubber, according to a report from the Rubber Manufacturers Association.

Scrap tire piles have shrunk 80 percent since 1990, when they contained more than 1 billion tires, the RMA said in its 2005 U.S. Scrap Tire Markets report released Dec. 5. Now, about 188 million scrap tires are piled throughout the United States.

Nearly 87 percent of the scrap tires disposed of each year are recycled, compared with 11 percent in 1990, according to the report, the first update since RMA´s 2003 report. Tire-derived fuel remains the most popular destination for scrap tire reuse, increasing 20 percent to 155 million scrap tires from 2003 to 2005.

South Carolina, North Carolina and Maine are the best at dealing with scrap tires, while Texas, Alabama, Michigan and Ohio improved their scrap tire situation the most from 2003 to 2005, according to the report.

More information is available at RMA´s Web site, www.rma.org .
 

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