SACRAMENTO, Calif. (July 2, 2013) — The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) has awarded nearly $5.5 million in grants to 59 California cities and counties for public improvement projects involving the use of products made from recycled tires.
Also, CalRecycle is providing technical assistance to Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in its installation of 1,300 tons of recycled rubber as a vibration dampener in its Warm Springs, Calif., commuter rail extension project.
CalRecycle provides grants of up to $500,000 for each county or municipal project that supports the recovery and reuse of waste tires. According to agency rules, each project must divert at least 2,500 California-generated scrap tires from landfilling.
Common scrap tire projects in California include playground cover, landscape mulch, athletic track and field surfaces, pathways, accessibility ramps and agricultural stall mats, CalRecycle said.
Among the projects CalRecycle is funding in its new round of grants are:
• Artificial-surface sports fields for a new public park in the City of San Pablo;
• Rubber mats for two 40-stall horse barns at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo;
• Recycled rubber playground surfacing at two elementary school playgrounds in the Stanislaus Union School District; and
• Rubber mulch for landscaped areas in Orange County Sanitation District facilities.
In the Warm Springs project, BART is planning a 5.4-mile commuter rail extension from the current Fremont BART station to a new station in South Fremont, CalRecycle said. The new line is expected to open in late 2015 and serve an additional 6,000 commuters daily, the agency said.
BART has not previously used tire-derived aggregate (TDA), but decided it was the best material for the project after conducting environmental studies, according to CalRecycle. TDA is cost-effective, drains well and is lighter than gravel — making it easier to transport and handle, the agency said.