ATTALLA, Ala. (Aug. 17, 2006) — Cleanup of the largest scrap tire site in Alabama began earlier this month in Attalla, near Gadsden, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) said.
The Four Star Wholesale site contains an estimated 8 million tires. C.W. Owens Enterprises, the contractor, is expected to take 2 to 3 years to complete cleanup, at a cost of about $7 million to be paid out of the state's scrap tire fund, an ADEM spokesman said.
The contract stipulates that at least 50 percent of the tires are to be reused or recycled, but doesn't specify how, he added.