LANSING, Mich. (May 8, 2015) — The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has awarded 21 grants worth just over $2.8 million to recycling companies, municipalities and universities within the state.
The grants are to help the development of new markets for scrap tires, the DEQ said. They are divided into road projects using rubber-modified asphalt; research into new and better ways to incorporate scrap tire rubber into asphalt and concrete; and equipment projects to create new ways of making value-added products from scrap tires.
The largest grant, $500,000, went to Howell, Mich.-based Remold Products L.L.C. for an equipment project, the DEQ said. Michigan Tech University received $333,000 for scrap tire research, and Michigan State University received $300,000 for the same purpose.
The DEQ earlier this year awarded 48 grants worth $587,000 to fund community scrap tire drop-offs and other scrap tire cleanups across the state, and $2.5 million last August for road projects that use scrap tires.