MADISON, Wis.-At least two state legislators are pushing for an end to Wisconsin's tire tax rather than divert the funds to other uses. The $2-per-tire tax on new cars was enacted in 1988 to pay for cleanup of scrap tire piles. The state Department of Natural Resources said recently that most of those have now been pulverized, and the fund has a $6 million surplus.
The DNR proposes converting the tax to an environmental fee to fund hazardous waste cleanup.
Research project nets award for JaiTire, city
LANCASTER, Calif.-JaiTire Industries of Denver, in partnership with the city of Lancaster, Calif., has won the League of California Cities' Helen Putnam Award for Excellence for their research project using recycled tires as a soil amendment.
Lancaster and JaiTire used a $50,000 research grant to install Rebound Soil Amendment in new athletic fields in the fall of 1993.
Rebound, composed of crumb rubber and compost, reduced water usage, created a softer playing surface and reduced overall field maintenance, according to project results. The project consumed more than 10,000 scrap tires.
Nat'l Rubber debuts rubber manhole rings
TORONTO-National Rubber Co. Inc. has debuted a rubber ring, made with scrap tire rubber, to fit around sewer manholes and water catch basins to prevent traffic damage to sewer structures.
Traditionally one- to two-inch concrete rings are used between the manholes and the road surfaces, but they eventually crack due to wear and pressure from heavy traffic, according to National Rubber.
The company said its Grade-Loc transition rings have the strength of concrete and the resilience of rubber and have the potential to significantly reduce the number of potholes around manholes and catch basins.
WRI earnings plunge, sales climb in 1st qtr.
DALLAS-Waste Recovery Inc. suffered a 63.1 percent plunge in earnings to $26,154 during the first quarter of 1995 as revenues climbed 35 percent to $3.18 million compared with the year-earlier period.
The tire-derived fuel processor said the results include a $27,000 loss in its Illinois Partnership project, which is constructing two TDF plants in that state. WRI President Thomas Earnshaw said the firm expects ``significant improvement in the latter part of 1995 as the facilities in Illinois come on stream.''
Failed erosion project creates tire pile, fines
GRAND ISLE, La.-Grand Isle Mayor Andy Valence is seeking reversal of a $31,264 fine and Department of Environmental Quality ruling that he set up an illegal tire dump and failed to obtain permits to collect and transport waste tires on the barrier island.
Nearly 100,000 tires were collected in 1991, many left by illegal dumpers, for a project Mr. Valence said would stop erosion of Grand Isle's fragile beach.
But the mayor's plan to use shredded tires to build breakwaters on the island's bay shore was dropped because it was untested and there was concern that bits of tires might pollute the environment.
About 80,000 tires, in compressed bundles, have since been buried behind the town community center, and most of the remaining tires were used as foundation for a levee at the town dump.