NIAGARA, Wis. (March 11, 2010) — Tire recycling firm American Tire & Recycling Corp. will pay $35,000 and take corrective actions to settle solid waste management claims brought by the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ).
According to the suit, American Tire & Recycling violated Wisconsin's solid waste laws by accumulating at its Niagara facility more scrap tires than the allowed number of 33,600 tires at the site, and was still collecting more, the state DOJ said.
Also, the company violated several conditions of its plan of operation to ensure safe handling of the tires, according to the suit. Specifically, it stored tires outside of approved areas and too close to buildings; it had inadequate proof of financial responsibility for dealing with the tires; it did not process tires within the allotted four days; it did not place processed tires in containers; and it had no storm water discharge permit, the DOJ said.
American Tire & Recycling also stored and processed tires at another site in New London, Wis., without a license or approved plan of operation, the lawsuit stated. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources inspected the New London property in January, and the site was closed and all tires removed shortly thereafter, the DOJ said.
The company has worked cooperatively and diligently to correct the violations, the Wisconsin DOJ said. The settlement calls for American Tire & Recycling to begin processing tires at the Niagara facility by March 25 and to reduce the number of stored tires to 33,600 by June 25.
American Tire & Recycling received its license and plan of operation approval for the Niagara site in June 2009, the DOJ said. Local newspapers reported subsequently that Keary Ecklund, the recycler's president, negotiated with town officials in Niagara and Racine, Wis., for agreements to start up tire collection and recycling operations that would employ 88 workers in Racine and 30 to 60 in Niagara.
Mr. Ecklund could not immediately be reached for comment at Tire Business presstime.